Mother, May I?
by HiKari Mokuba's Guardian
Summary: Sequel to"A Gift From God"When Seto and Mokuba hide the truth from Steven about his mom,Steven is determined to search all of Japan to find her.All 3 of the Kaibas embark on a journey that may lead to danger and the truth.But does Serenity want to be foun
1. Chapter 1

**Last time on "HiKari Mokuba's Guardian Storybook of Kaiba Adventures"! We left our heroes after a promise had been made to keep the dark secret of Steven's mother hidden from the boy. 7 years has past, and we find a new addition to the Kaiba family! But has this new addition and all these years torn the two brothers apart? From the person who brought you "For Your Protection" and "No Matter What" is a story about one father, one brother, and one boy. This is their story of adventure, ambition, and love.**

**HiKari Mokuba's Guardian presents the sequel to "A Gift From God."**

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Prologue

_Seto was an overprotective father, as he was a brother. From the moment Steven was born, Seto never let anyone near him. Seto was always paranoid that Steven was in danger or was in need of help. I swear, every time that kid sneezed, Seto would rush him right to the hospital and demand to know if his son was alright, Steven was always alright, it was Seto's mental stability that most people were worried about. I couldn't blame them, sometimes I found myself pondering the same thing._

_But Seto loves him a lot, I'm not sure Steven even realizes how much he means to Seto. Although Seto had issues with control, Steven did well even under his father's watchful eye. Steven might be the happiest kid I know, he was always peppy and always happy. He was generally a good kid too. Steven was a good student and well behaved. He's even one of the smartest kids in the class. Seto was wondering for a while whether he was a child prodigy or not, I just think being smart runs in our family._

_We never told him about our family. We never told him about our history. Steven doesn't know that our parents are dead, that we lived in an orphanage, that an abusive monster adopted us, or how Seto became president of Kaiba Corp. I hated feeling like we were hiding all these things from him, but at the same time he never asked about it. It was like he knew there was something different about us, but also knew that it was too painful to talk about. _

_Then there was the fact that he didn't have a mother. Steven never asked where his mother was or why she was gone. I wasn't sure why, but I'm sure this made Seto relieved. Seto had made me swear to never tell Steven the truth about Serenity or what had happened. That it was somehow damage him forever. We had even prepared an elaborate fake story to tell him for the day he would finally ask about her. _

_I know I made a promise to Seto, but if that day ever comes, I'm not sure I'll be able to lie to Steven about his mother. I mean I would've wanted to know the story, the real story, behind my mother's absence in my life. Even if it may prove to be the most painful thing to accept._

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**Mother: **1) A woman who has given birth to a child 2) A mother is the natural or social female parent of an offspring 3) A condition that is the inspiration for an activity or situation

Chapter 1

"_The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."-Rajneesh_

Steven stood patiently outside of Domino Elementary. The bell had just rung and Seto was nowhere in site. This didn't bother Steven it simply surprised him. His father wasn't one to be late, or to leave him on his own. Steven didn't mind this in the end. He turned and watched as the other children met with their parents, sharing happy greetings and other signs of affection. Steven watched with content, happy to see the children reunite with their parents again after being at school for so long. The only thing that saddened was watching the mothers.

The way they embraced their children. The way they kissed them on the head. The way their eyes light up at the site of their child, even if the child didn't look the same way. Steven had a father whom loved him very much, but the way these mothers acted, the way that they were, his father simply couldn't compare. He loved his dad, but he just didn't compare to what how mothers were.

Without much more thought on the topic, a limo sped up to the curb and the door flung open. Seto sprung out in front of Steven, looking as though he was expecting to fight someone. Steven just smiled and stretched himself out in an attempt to wrap his arms around Seto's waist to hug him. Steven wasn't quite tall enough, though. "Hi Otousan!" Steven chirped happily.

After scanned the area around him, Seto relaxed and returned the hug to Steven. "Hello Steven, sorry I was late. It's good to see that you didn't run into any trouble while we were gone." A groan could be heard from inside the car. Mokuba popped his head out of the limo's window with an annoyed look.

"Must you always think he's in trouble? The kid was waiting in front of the school for goodness sake, there are teachers out here who watch all the kids to make sure they're all safe."

"You never know Mokuba, you can't always be sure," Seto placed his hand on Steven's head. "There's always a chance of trouble." Mokuba rolled his eyes and returned to his seat. Seto helped Steven into the car and they began to drive home. "So how was your day, Steven?"

"It was good, I played tag today at recess."

"That sounds like fun. Did you win?"

"Well, I sure wasn't it!" Steven giggled at his own joke. Seto smiled and patted Steven on the head once more.

"What else happened in school?"

"Oh… well…" Steven started, "I got in trouble today?"

"What? Trouble? How?" Seto questioned, Steven wasn't the kind of child that got into trouble in any way.

"Well, Daizo threw a paper ball at the teacher today and then blamed it on me." Seto was enraged by this fact. He wasn't going to let anyone get away with something like that.

"Did you tell the teacher it wasn't you?"

"I tried to, but she didn't believe me. The rest of the class said it was me too." Seto gasped and flipped out his cell phone.

"Seto, what are you doing?" Mokuba asked.

"I'm calling the principal to tell him about what that teacher did." Mokuba slapped his forehead with his hand. He hated it when Seto did this. Seto went crazy over the smallest of things and wouldn't stop until all of Japan knew how the world had mistreated his son.

"Seto, can't you stay out of it this time? I swear, every time anything happens in Steven's class, you have to go all berserk on the school. I hope you know that's the reason why his teachers end up hating him."

"Well, I can't help it if they're blind." Mokuba grabbed the cell phone from Seto's hand and snapped it closed. "Hey!"

"You need to chill out."

"And you need to leave business to me!" Seto tried to snatch the phone away, but Mokuba kept it out of his reach.

"Otousan, it's really okay. I didn't mind being put in time out for a while." Seto sighed and stopped trying to take the cell phone from Mokuba. Mokuba crossed his arms and looked out the window. The rest of the ride was in silence until they reached home.

Relations between Seto and Mokuba had loosened since the birth of Steven. Mokuba was going through his teenager stage and Seto was just entering parenthood. It seemed as though they lived on two different planets, not to mention two different languages. Mokuba disagreed with a lot of Seto's opinions and Seto felt the same about Mokuba's.

When they stepped out of the car and entered the Kaiba mansion, Mokuba left immediately and disappeared into his room. Seto shook his head, feeling a bit guilty, but tried to ignore it by focusing on Steven. "Do you need help with your homework?"

"No Otousan, I think I'll be good."

"You sure?" Steven nodded. "How about you grab your backpack and bring it up to my office."

"I'm going to do it in my room tonight."

"All by yourself?" Steven frowned.

"I can do it Otousan, I promise." Steven loved his dad, but hated being monitored all the time. Steven didn't realize that this only happened because Seto had control issues and worried about Steven almost all the time. Steven grabbed his backpack and went to his room. Seto watched until he was completely out of sight. Seto hated leaving Steven alone, he felt like something bad could happen. But he convinced himself that everything would be fine and went to his office.

Steven carried his backpack up the stairs and was about to enter his room when he thought about what had been puzzling him at school. He dropped his backpack to the ground. Did he have a mother? Surely he must have one; everyone has a mother. No one exists without a mother. Steven thought for a moment. How could he found out more about her? A bad thought came to mind. Steven could go into Seto's room and try to find something. He wanted to dismiss the idea, since he was aware that he wasn't allowed into his father's room, and yet, this only made him want to find out more.

Steven looked down both ways of the hallway to make sure no one was coming before sneaking into Seto's room. He quickly opened and entered the room. It was a pretty plain room; Seto wasn't one to decorate much. It just had all the things a normal person would need in a room; a desk, a laptop, a bed, a lamp. Steven noticed a file cabinet in the corner that caught his eye. That was his best bet at finding something worthwhile.

Steven quickly walked over to the cabinet and began opening and closing the drawers. There were all sorts of folders, labels, and records of all kinds. Steven looked very closely through each folder but could find nothing about a mother of any kind. It was if she hadn't existed at all. But she must exist… Steven knew she had to. His body became alert when he heard Isono's voice calling everyone for dinner. Steven quickly sprinted out of the room and down the stairs to the dining room. Seto and Mokuba were already seated.

"There you are Steven, what took you?" Seto asked. Steven sat down in his seat and picked up his fork.

"Oh… nothing," Steven replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He couldn't believe that he had just lied to his own father. Steven had never done such a thing in his life, and yet he found it easy to do. His heart wasn't racing, and the guilt was quickly fading. The dinner began as it always did and the trio ate in silence.

Halfway through the meal, Steven found himself restless. Why couldn't he find anything on his mother? How come there weren't any pictures? Steven had to know the answers. He needed to know who he mother was, and why she wasn't her. Steven felt the question beginning to rise and he knew he wouldn't be able to contain it. He had to know the truth.

"Otousan?" Seto looked up from his food, swallowing what was in his mouth.

"Yes Steven?"

"Do I have a mother?" Seto nearly choked as Mokuba spat the water he had just drank in his mouth. Steven was a little taken back by bother their reactions.

"Mother?! Who told you this??"

"No one told me anything, Otousan, I thought it up myself." Seto looked from Steven to Mokuba. Mokuba did the same thing. They had been planning this moment since day one, and they both found themselves speechless. Steven cocked his head, staring at both of them. "Otousan?" Seto stood up.

"Family meeting in the living room. Now." Seto and Mokuba rose from the table and walked towards the living room. Steven did the same, but Seto stopped him. "Uh… family that isn't Steven." Steven shrugged and sat back down at the table.

"Oh God…" Seto said, running his hand through his hair with anxiety, "What do we say?"

"Why don't we tell him the truth?" Mokuba asked.

"No! That'll be the last thing we do."

"Seto, you're being unreasonable. He deserves to know."

"It's not about what he deserves…"

"It's his right to know!" Mokuba glared at his older brother. How could he lie to his own son about his mother? It wasn't right. Steven had to know, need to know. How could he go on through life not knowing it? "Well, I don't care what you say. I'm going in there and telling him the truth." Mokuba turned to go back to the table. Seto quickly pranced and grabbed him by the arm.

"No way! That's not going to happen," Seto said in a low voice. Mokuba shoved him off his arm.

"Yes it is, I don't see how you can keep hiding this from him."

"You made a promise to me, Mokuba."

"I would've liked to know where my mom was if she was gone!"

"Well, the fact is she's dead so it's a different situation."

"You still told me what had happened to her when I was a kid. You told even told me how she died."

"Actually that was dad, remember? I didn't want to tell you." Mokuba shook his head and started walking again. "Mokuba! Wait!" Seto ran after him. When Mokuba saw his brother coming for him, he broke into a sprinted and sprinted right into the dining room once again where Steven sat patiently. "Don't you dare!"

"Steven, your mom-" Mokuba began, but he was soon shoved by Seto to the ground. Steven's eyes widened. "Ow Seto! That hurt!" Mokuba yelled, kicking Seto in the knee.

"Hey! Quit it!" Mokuba got up from the ground and lunged himself at his brother. Seto held up his arms in defense, but still found himself almost falling flat on his back. They started to throw punches at each other and fighting as if they were children.

"Otousan! Mokuba! Stop it!" Steven yelled, getting up from the table and running to them. The two brothers did not stop, at this point they had resorted to shoving each other. Steven grabbed Mokuba from behind and tried to pull him away. Seto took up both his arms and shoved Mokuba right into the counter with Steven right behind him. Steven's head smacked against the edge of the counter. The room filled with fear.

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**A/N:** _AWESOME! YES! SEQUEL! I'm loving it. Are you loving it? This story is going to be a lot of fun. I'm going to try and make this story a little less serious and little more humorous. I've already started on the second chapter and it seems to be heading that way, so you can look forward to that. Just the clarify some things if you didn't get anything; The writing at the top was from Mokuba's POV, and they're ages are like so: Seto is 25, Mokuba is 18, and Steven is 7. Now you might be wondering why there are going to be mother quotes at the beginning of every chapter. Even if you're not, I'll still explain anyway:p Basically, the quotes are suppose to represent, or paint a picture, of what Steven believes his mother is or is like. This is not to say Serenity(gasp) isn't like this, is just to say we don't know yet. But you'll find out in time, don't worry. Anyways, I hope to see some of my reviewers from the last story ready to enjoy this new one!_

_P.S: "Otousan" means father in Japanese. Just to run that by you guys. _


	2. Chapter 2

Makai-Rahl: I'm glad you're as excited as I am for the sequel! I can't wait to get this story started. I'm glad you decided to keep reading on. Thanks for the review!

Journey Maker: Such high expectations, but believe me, I intend to fill them/exceed them! Yeah, Seto is kind of wrong for thinking Steven shouldn't know, but at the same time, he's a first time dad, you can't blame him for knowing. Thanks for the review!

AmePiper: There you are Ame! I didn't know where you went! I missed you. I was going to PM you about the update cause I didn't want to post a chapter without a review response, but then on your profile it said you were busy and were gonna be gone for a while, so I didn't want to bother you. I'm sorry! Yes, trashed relationships do make for a good reading, that's why I intend to be evil. Or do I? You'll just have to see… or, well, read. It's good to have you back and reading darling, I most certainly missed you! It doesn't feel like a chapter without you, dear. Thanks for the review!

Chapter 2

"_Take the word "family." Strike out the "m" for the mother and the "y" for youth – and all you have left is "fail."_-Omar Burleson

"Steven!" Seto cried in fear, running to him and holding him in his arms immediately, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Steven let his head hang for a moment before rubbing it gently with his palm. 

"Ow…" Steven said quickly, his eyes beginning to well up. "My head hurts." Seto was horrified at what he had just done.

"I'll get you to the hospital."

"I don't think there's any need, he just banged his head."

"Just banged his head? Are you mad?" Seto yelled.

"He's not bleeding, one pain killer and he'll be fine." Mokuba knelt down and kissed Steven on the head. "You're going to be okay Steven, the pain will just need a minute or two before it goes away." Steven looked over at Seto.

"Otousan, I want to know about my mother." Once again, Seto and Mokuba were only left looking at one another, not quite sure what to do or how to handle the situation. "Please…" Steven said in a quiet and sad voice. His eyes darkened. The air grew cold. The brothers were silent.

"Gah! I can't do this!" Mokuba yelled in frustration, finally breaking the silence in the room, "Your mother is-"

"Not here right now."

"Is… is she dead?" Steven asked with a fearful look on his face. 

"No! No, of course not!" Seto reassured, he was grateful that at least that was truthful. Suddenly he felt as thought he couldn't lie to Steven about his mother. 

"Well, where is she?"

"We're… not exactly sure…" Seto sighed. Steven's face was filled with confusion. How could Seto not know where she is? She was his mother, for goodness sake, how could he not know? "You see… she kind of… left."

"Left?"

"Yes…" Seto gritted his teeth. He didn't want to see Steven's face in pain. He couldn't do this. He couldn't tell Steven the real truth. "But, it's not as it seems." Mokuba looked over at Seto in confusion. What was Seto going to tell him? Mokuba bit his lip, hoping Seto wasn't going to do what he was sure he was going to do. "You see… she left one day to go and… find herself."

"Find herself?"

"Yes dear, it's what they call a mid-life crisis."

"Oh." Steven wasn't sure what that was, but didn't ask any questions. He wanted to hear the full story behind his mother. 

"So… when she was off… finding herself… she got… lost."

"Lost?"

"Yes."

"Finding herself?"

"Exactly." 

"Okay…" Mokuba shook his head. He couldn't believe what his brother was telling Steven. Mokuba's heart ached for him. 

"So… that's why she's gone." Steven sat and thought for a moment, re-thinking all the information Seto had just told him. In the meantime Seto was praying that Steven would buy it. He couldn't bear adding more lies to the story. 

"…Will she ever find her way back?"

"I don't know son, I just don't know." Seto patted Steven on the back and got up. "Well, it's time to go to bed."

"Bed? How can I think about bed at a time like this?" Steven stood heroically, holding his fist in the air. Mokuba stared at him. "Don't you see? We have a mission!" Seto raised one eyebrow.

"A mission?"

"Yes Otousan! We must find my mother and bring her back!" Seto's jaw dropped.

"What? No! We can't do that!"

"What do you mean we can't?"

"We just can't!" Seto snapped back. Steven jumped back in fear. His lower lip quivered as he took a couple more steps away from Seto. His eyes shocked and afraid. Seto immediately felt guilty for his actions. "Geez… I'm sorry Steven…" Steven didn't say a word, he just made sure to keep his distance. Seto sighed, "Look, I'll make it up to you. We'll go on a search tomorrow to go find her." Steven's face brightened.

"Yay!" Steven cheered.

"Alright, but for right now, it's time to go to bed. We'll go on our search tomorrow." Steven nodded and bounded up the stairs. Mokuba and Seto looked at each other.

"She lost herself?"

"What? He bought it." Mokuba punched him in the shoulder. "Hey! What was that for?"

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"What did you think I was going to tell him?"

"Um, maybe the truth?"

"The truth hurts."

"That doesn't make it right to lie." Seto rolled his eyes and started walking away from Mokuba. "What? So you're just gonna go with it? Get in the car tomorrow and venture to find his mother who doesn't even want him?" Seto stopped. 

"I don't have to take this from you. You're my little brother, what would you know?"

"I know enough to know that this is wrong. You shouldn't lie to him. You're setting him up to get even more hurt."

"You don't even know what you're talking about." Mokuba kicked one of the chairs at the table in frustration. 

"You're impossible!" Mokuba yelled, running out of the dining room and up to his room. Seto shook his head and ignored it. He didn't have time to go and apologize; Mokuba would need to grow up anyway. He wasn't a little kid anymore he was practically an adult. Seto had a real child now he didn't have all the time he used to baby sit Mokuba. 

Seto went into Steven's bedroom and found him sitting on his bed in his pajamas, looking at a mirror. Seto sat down beside him and looked into the mirror for himself. There was nothing new, just both of their reflections staring back up at them. "What are you looking at, Steven?" Seto asked when Steven continued to stare at himself and no speak.

"I'm trying to see what parts of me are of my mother…" Steven moved his face closer to the mirror in an attempt to see more detailed things on his face. 

"Well… your hair is a bit lighter than mine. That a mother detail of yours, both Mokuba and I have dark hair. Hm… your facial structure could be of your mother's too," Seto titled Steven's head up with his hand, "I can't tell though. Because you also look a lot like Mokuba as well when we was a kid." Steven looked back at the mirror. 

"I guess I do kind of look like Mokuba." Seto took up the mirror and placed it back on the coffee table.

"It's time you get some rest, Steven." Seto pulled the covers over Steven and tucked him in. He smiled again, turning off the lamp and kissing Steven on the forehead. "Good night," said Seto in a soft voice. He got up from the bed about to leave when Steven called out to him. 

"Wait… Otousan…"

"Yes Steven?" There was a pause.

"Was my mother… beautiful?" Seto nodded in the darkness. 

"She was very beautiful." Seto heard Steven shift in his bed one last time before complete silence was heard. Seto slowly made his way out of the room and shut the door behind him. Mokuba was standing outside, staring back at him. 

"So you did find her to be beautiful?" Seto walked past him and ignored his question. Mokuba followed from behind him. "Seto, are we actually going to go looking for her?"

"I would never break a promise," Seto made an emphasis on promise as he jeered back at Mokuba before entering his office. Mokuba rolled his eyes and walked in. "Plus, I have the whole thing planned out. Everything will be fine in the end."

"You always say that but I just can't believe you anymore." At that moment, there was fire that filled the room, along with tension. Seto and Mokuba stared each other down, each with their own look of determination and their own belief of what was right. There had never once been before a true brothers' quarrel between the two Kaibas, but they knew it would come down to that.

"Get out of my office." Seto didn't leave any room for argument. He left his words float in the air, and let Mokuba know what he wanted was law. Mokuba might've been older, but Seto was still in control of what went on in his house. Sometimes Mokuba needed to be reminded of that. Thankfully, Mokuba left as Seto had commanded and the Kaiba Mansion was quiet with anger and fear.

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"I'm so excited to meet my mom!" Steven exclaimed, jumping up and down in anticipation as Seto was grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "Come on Otousan, you're taking such a long time!"

"Calm down Steven, we'll be there in no time. I just need to do some thing before I leave." Steven pouted and crossed his arms. Seto shut the fridge and stood upright. "Okay, run off to the car now. I'll be out there shortly." Steven sped off and out the door. Seto felt anxiety reach his heart as he started feeling nervous about what he was doing. There was a call from behind him when he was about to exit from the front door.

"Seto..."

"Mokuba."

"Look, I'm sorry for last night."

"That's quite alright Mokuba, but I should really be going. Steven is anxious to go. We shouldn't be too long, we'll be back before you know it." Mokuba placed his hand on Seto's shoulder. Seto twisted around.

"I'm coming with you."

"We don't need your assistance for this one."

"I know you don't, but I still feel like I should come." Seto wanted to refuse Mokuba's request, but decided against it. He stepped aside and let Mokuba pass him and walk out to the car. It didn't matter if Mokuba came anyway; he's primary concern was Steven. He got into the car and started driving. Mokuba leaned over to Seto. "So where exactly are we going?" Mokuba whispered. The car pulled up to Joey's house. "What! Here! Seto are you-"

"Just stay out of this Mokuba, I know what I'm doing." Mokuba leaned back into his seat as Steven bounded out of the car. 

"Is this where my mom lives?" Seto didn't say anything. He walked past Steven, up the steps and to the door. He knocked three times and waited. Steven ran up and stood beside Seto obediently, remaining silent. Joey opened the door, his eyes widened to the site of Seto. 

"Kaiba?" His eyes wandered and fell on Steven. He jumped back at the site of him. Joey grabbed Seto by the collar and pulled him over to Joey's face. "What the hell do you think you're doing bringing your kid here? Serenity doesn't want me to get involved with him." Seto placed his hand on Joey's and shoved him off.

"Don't worry, we won't be here long."

"But what if he recongnizes me?" Joey whispered, staring at Steven with frightful eyes. 

"Don't worry, he won't." Seto pushed him to the side and walked in. Steven quickly followed him, glancing up at Joey before running in after his father. Joey grumbled and then noticed Mokuba run up to him.

"Hey Joey." Joey gave a small smile.

"Hey Mokuba. Good to see you all grown up." Mokuba nodded.

"May I come in?"

"You're the first to ask." Both Joey and Mokuba walked into the house to find Seto looking around, touching all the different objects and knickknacks in the room. 

"So you still live here?" Seto asked, looking around at the place. To his surprise, it was in a much more livable condition then he remembered it. Seto then realized he hadn't been in this house since the disaster of the dinner that Serenity had put together over 7 years ago.

"Yep, this is where Mai and I live."

"You and Mai are living together now?" Mokuba asked. Joey lifted his hand to reveal a wedding ring on his ring finger. "Oh, congratulations Joey." Just as Mokuba had said that, there was a small cry that was heard from upstairs. It grew louder and louder as the sound of footsteps was heard running down the stairs. 

"Daddy! Daddy!" A little blonde girl ran into the room and latched onto Joey's leg. Tears were running down her face as she clutched onto his leg tightly. "Mommy's trying to hurt me!" Joey knelt down and brought the little girl into his arms.

"What are you talking about? You know that Mommy would never hurt you." Mai appeared now from the stairway, a brush was evident in her hand. 

"There's just some tangles that need to be dealt with, but she ran away before I could finish getting them out," Mai looked around the room and noticed Mokuba, Seto, and Steven were in the room. She gave Steven an extra long look. She put her hands on her hips, "A surprise visit from the Kaibas? I didn't see this coming." Seto rolled his eyes. He was about to give her an annoyed reply when Mokuba spoke up.

"You guys have a kid too?" Mai nodded.

"Her name is Melanie." Joey stood up and let Melanie wander over to Steven. They began talking and walked into the next room to go and play. "Now… why exactly are you two here?" Mai asked, not wanting to waste a second more with small talk. It was finally Seto's turn to speak. 

"We're looking for Serenity."

"Serenity? Why? I thought she said she never wanted to-"

"Look, I know what she said, okay? But all Steven wants to do is meet her… that's all I plan to let him do. I'm not sure where she lives now." Joey and Mai looked at each other, then back at Seto.

"I'm not sure we have the information you're looking for."

"What do you mean?" Joey sighed.

"Serenity and I fell out of contact a couple years after Melanie was born. We had a huge fight and from then on we just stopped talking. I'm not sure what she's doing now, all I know is her acting career has taken over her life."

"Well do you at least know where she is?"

"Nah, I really don't know. I don't even remember her last move. She's been making so much money, so she kept moving to better and better places. I can honestly say there's not a good chance you'll be able to find her." Seto looked down in sorrow. He knew how disappointed Steven would be, but at the same time this meant there was no chance at all of him getting hurt.

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**A/N:** _Hey guys! Here's chapter 2. I had to cut it cause, I just seem to keep going and going when I'm writing these chapters. This is telling me that this story is gonna be long and awesome, which I'm sure you all will enjoy. It's good to see all my old reviewers discovering this new story, I hope it's living up to be what you thought it would(but it hasn't even begun yet, so if it has, I'm surprised!) I hope you liked and enjoyed!_

_P.S: So the quote was kind of dark, but when I found it I simply had to put it in because it really intrigued me and, I don't know, it just seemed interesting. But anyways, that's all I had to report._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

XXRoseGoddessXx: Oh yes, I always have something planned for my readers. Thanks for the review!

MaterialGirl69: Picking one or two words in Japanese and using them in stories actually annoys me too, I will admit. But I just decided that I would have Steven call Seto by that name since Mokuba, if you haven't noticed, stopped calling Seto Nii-sama. Which is actually a somewhat important factor, but I can't give the whole story away, so instead, read chapter 3 and enjoy!

Journey Maker: It makes me happy to know that you love reading this story. I love reading your reviews, thanks so much for writing them!

AmePiper: There's my one and only. I should've known it was referring to your writing, oh, I was just worried that I might've come off as pushy. I wouldn't have wanted that at all. It's good to know that you're back and you're still interested in what I have to offer. I'm very excited for this story as I have explained multiple times, and this story is JUST getting started so it's not QUITE as good as it's really going to get. Don't you worry. I'll definitely keep that in mind after I post this chapter(not to mention I will be counting the hours so I'll make sure to PM you haha) Well, I must go and expose you to the next epic chapter! Thanks for your review and every review, dearly beloved!

Chapter 3

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."-Marion C. Garretty

Seto and Mokuba were saying their goodbyes and leaving the Wheeler household when Joey pulled Seto to the side. "Hey Kaiba. Listen, I know I told you I didn't know where Serenity was. But if you wanted a clue to find her, I'd start in Tokyo."

"Thanks Wheeler, but I don't think we'll be going on any grand searches anytime soon."

"Alright, if you say so." Seto turned away to leave when Joey's hand grabbed Seto's arm again, "Wait." Seto was beginning to become slightly annoyed by this.

"What is it?"

"Look… I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry for what I said all those years ago." At first, Seto wasn't quite sure what Joey was talking about. Then he remembered. The words he spat out, their main purpose to hurt him, Mokuba crying beside him in the park, the brutal beating Joey received for saying such slander. After all these years, he finally apologized for them. "It was… it was low of me to say them. And I'm ashamed such words came out of my mouth."

"Tensions were high, we were bound to snap at each other." Seto knew this was one of the main reasons why Serenity and him could never quite be together. The rivalry between him and Joey would cause too many problems as it had in the years before hand. 

"Yeah…" Joey shrugged, "I was wondering Kaiba… before you go…" Seto rolled his eyes. He hated it when people got mushy and emotional. "I was hoping we could make a truce. I mean, we've been butting heads for so many years now, I don't even know why we still keep at it. But now we're both Dads and we're both older so… I was hoping we were both old enough and mature enough to call a truce." Joey held out his hand, a handshake was the manly way of sealing a deal for good. 

Seto took his hand and shook it. "You strive a hard bargain, but I have nothing else to do but accept." Seto walked towards the card, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders after commencing that truce with Joey. 

"Good luck on your search. I hope you find her." Seto still didn't know why Joey thought they were going on some search. But Joey was still an odd mind in Seto's eyes. He took up the wheel and began driving away. 

"So Otousan… what did the blonde man say?" Steven asked, finally breaking the silence in the car. 

"Oh… right. Mr. Wheeler said that he doesn't know where your mother is. I'm sorry Steven. There's just no way of finding her." A dark and deeply saddened look took over Steven's face. He looked out the window, his eyes filled with wonder. 

"No…"

"No what?"

"It can't be. I know she's out there."

"What are you saying?" Steven looked up.

"I have to find her Otousan, I just have to!" Seto sighed. It looked as thought killing Steven's spirits would prove to be harder than he originally thought.

"I'm sorry Steven, but it's just not possible. She could be anywhere. Japan is a big country, you know." 

"I don't care. I have to find her, I need to find her."

"Why do you feel so strongly about finding her?" Seto wanted to take that back after a moment. If his mother were alive, he would want to find her as well. Seto remained silent. 

"Come on Otousan… haven't you ever wanted to do something, achieve something, everyone thought was impossible? Or to do something that seemed insane, but you knew in your heart, that it was right?" Seto stopped the car. Mokuba was looking at Steven. Both of the brothers knew exactly what Steven was talking about. Both of them had been in similar situations.

Mokuba recalled when Seto had left him after his defeat from Yugi. Seto had practically gone insane, and couldn't stand the fact that he had lost any longer. He left Mokuba alone, to fend for himself, never saying where he was going. Mokuba had been determined to find him, even though he had no idea where he went or where to start. Of course, other things did get in the way of that, but if Pegasus hadn't kidnapped him, he would've searched the ends of the earth for his older brother.

Seto recalled a memory as well, a memory that extended through out most of his life. After Yugi had defeated him and taken his title, Seto was heart broken and confused. It was illogical and it didn't make sense. How could it have happened? How could it happen? Why did it happen to him? For years to come, he would try and try again to regain what he had lost. He had dueled him countless times, but was still reunited with defeat. It seemed impossible, but to Seto, he felt as though he could always achieve that title again. It had been many years from that duel, Seto was older and knew there were more important things in life than titles, but Seto could at least know the feeling. 

It might've been the very first time Seto and Mokuba felt like they could relate to Steven. Although Steven had been with them for 7 years now, they still felt as though he were a stranger. The child was not entirely like either one of them and held very few traits of either of them. But somehow, this changed things. 

"I have to find her Otousan… I know it doesn't look like it's possible. But I just know it is. I see it, I see myself finding her, meeting her… It can't all be in my head." Seto looked back from the driver's seat and into Steven's gray-blue eyes. They sparkled with determination, ambition, and fire. The fire Seto always had when all hope seemed lost. How could he deny his only son the desire Seto had faced all throughout his life?

"We'll do it."

"We will?"

"Yeah, we're going to do it. We'll find her and you're going to meet your mother." Steven smiled, a smile Seto had never quite seen before. It was a mixture of a dream finally coming true and a fuel that let him know he was going to do this till the bitter end. Seto liked seeing that. "We better get home and get our things packed."

When they arrived home, Steven didn't let a second slip by. He ran up the stairs and into his room to pack. Seto smiled and walked to his office to do the same thing. Mokuba was still following from behind. "So we are going to do this?"

"Yep."

"Even if it means Steven finding out the truth?"

"I realize now that I would've done the same thing and wouldn't have let anyone stand in my way." Mokuba smiled.

"I'm glad you're starting to understand your own kid."

"I guess… in a way… I had my own fathering experience in the past so I sort of know what I'm doing." Seto looked back at Mokuba.

"You're not my father, Seto. But you are my brother and you did raise me like a son. That I am thankful for." Mokuba turned away to leave the room.

"Will you come with us?"

"Of course," Mokuba grinned, "How could I resist an adventure?" Seto nodded. Mokuba left to get packed as Seto remained in the room to do the same. 

"That's my brother."

* * *

Mokuba slammed the trunk closed. Seto and Steven were standing side by side on the sidewalk, staring at the Kaiba Mansion. Seto placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "The thing about adventures is, they can be quite unpredictable," Seto started, "You never really know when you'll be back home again." There was a pause and silence. Mokuba walked up and stood on the other side of Steven to behold the Kaiba Mansion and everything it stood for. "Are you sure you're ready to go on this journey? It may last days… maybe weeks…"

Steven stared long and hard at the mansion before him. Steven was unaware of what it truly represented or of the haunted memories it held within its walls and hallways. He didn't know the stories of pain and suffering that came along with the ownership of the house, or what events had taken place in it many years before. And yet, it was his home, the only one he had ever known. 

"I'm sure" Steven stated, "I want to find my mother… no matter what it takes." Seto smiled.

"I was hoping you would say that." 

"Well, everyone in the car. It's time to set off on our adventure." All three of the Kaibas got into the car and Seto pushed the key in and turned the car on. Steven turned his head as the car pulled out and away from the Kaiba Mansion. He wanted to make sure he got the very last snap shots framed in his mind, because he somehow he knew this journey was going to be long and dangerous.

Rain started to fall from the sky. At first, soft and somewhat soothing. Then as Seto drove farther and farther from Domino City, it began pouring harder and harder. Seto gripped his stirring wheel and leaned forward. It was becoming hard to see, even with the windshield wipers on full blast. Driving in the rain made Seto extremely nervous, but he didn't let it show. 

In the back, Steven was asleep and curled up next to Mokuba. Mokuba was sitting very still, gripping the seat underneath him with his eyes pinned to the window, watching every move out there. There was something about rain on the road that made both the brothers nervous. Suddenly the road was free of cars and it appeared as though Seto was the only one driving on it.

"Seto, maybe we should pull over."

"We're fine."

"No one else is driving on the road. They're all parked on the side because it's too dangerous."

"Mokuba, if you haven't noticed, we have a mission." Mokuba shook his head. Seto's determination would most definitely be the death of both him and Mokuba. And it wouldn't be the prettiest of deaths, Mokuba was positive of this. By this time, the rain was pouring like it were a waterfall. Each droplet crashing against the roof of the car was enough to wake Steven from his sleep. 

"W-What's happening?" Steven asked while he was yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Just a little bit of rain."

"A little bit?" Steven went up to the window.

"Woah… it looks like a river!" Steven pointed out at the road, which was barely seeable with all the rain that was pouring down. 

"Maybe we should stop and wait for the rain to pass." Seto ignored Mokuba. He hated back seat drivers, but mostly he hated people who tried to tell him what to do. Mokuba sat back in his seat and gave up. Steven's eyes were glued to the window as they drove onto a bridge. It was hard to see out the window with so much rain, but Steven spotted one lone car that was driving along side them. 

"Hey Otousan, I see another car!" Steven pointed through the window at the car. Mokuba noticed that the car was moving away and swerved out of a lane, then swerved back and was headed right for them. 

"Seto! Watch out!" The car crashed into the side of Seto's car, sending Seto's car out of control and twirling around and off the side of the bridge. The car flipped three or four times, back and forth as it was falling through the air. The car fell into the water sideways and didn't take long before it began sinking. Water started to funnel into the car and fast. 

Mokuba slowly opened his eyes to find that the car was almost filled up with water. He looked around frantically, finding both Seto and Steven were unconscious. He unbuckled his seat belt and swam from the back seat over to Seto. He shook Seto as hard as he could underwater until finally Seto came to. Seto jerked back in fright. 

Mokuba didn't wait for Seto to realize what was going on, he unbuckled his brother and opened the driver's door for him to swim out. Mokuba was about to leave when he remembered Steven was still buckled down in the car so he turned around and swam back to grab him. Seto reached for Mokuba's shirt and pulled him back. Mokuba twisted back and tried to peel him off, but Seto wouldn't comply. Mokuba mouthed Steven's name, which finally made Seto let go. 

Mokuba made one more desperate attempt to swim into the car and grab Steven. He ended up grabbed Steven by the arm and tried to pull him out, but found that he was still buckled in by his seat belt. Mokuba pulled himself back into the car and tried to unbuckled Steven in a fast manner. The pressure was beginning to get to him as the car sank deeper and deeper. It felt as though his lungs might explode if he didn't get oxygen soon. 

After multiple attempts, Mokuba finally unbuckled Steven from the car. But just as he had, he felt consciousness slowly slipping away. His lungs were about to explode and all the energy he had left had escaped from his body. Mokuba's eyes closed slowly, his arms still locked and wrapped around Steven's tiny frame. All hope would've seemed lost, until Seto had both Steven and Mokuba in each arm as he kicked his way to the top of the water. The only problem was, he needed air quickly or else he would lose consciousness. He kicked as hard as he possibly could until finally. Air. There was air and rain. But for the most part, there was air.

* * *

**A/N:**_It took a while, but that was chapter 3! I hope the quotes aren't really bad; I can't seem to find anymore interesting ones anymore. I'm sorry, I hope the story itself is enough for you to forgive me. I'm trying really hard to get this story moving, but I'm sure it'll become gripping and exciting soon enough. I'm working on a variety of ideas to do this. It's going to be everything you ever thought was UNREAL, or just insanely funny. Believe me, it will. Thanks for reading, you guys make my life so much brighter!_

_P.S: I'm sorry for the title sometimes being off center or not italics. Sometimes it just comes out that way and I can't do anything to change it. It's quite annoying. Anyways, just letting you know! _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AmePiper: Hello, hello lovely. I believe I have already thanked you for the quotes, but I'll do it again just in case; thank you for the quotes! Gosh, I feel as though Steven isn't as loveable as he was in For Your Protection. Do you think I'm starting to lose my awesome own character abilities? Well, let's hope not. I'll reply to your PM as soon as things start looking up for me. Thanks again dearest.

Journey maker: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Ladyguadalupe: I'm glad you're reading the story and liking it! I was wondering where you were… and you're right, I do apologize too much. I suppose I don't have the highest of self-esteem when it comes to my writing, but you guys always manage to boost it with every review, that I thank you for. It's good to know your favorite character is no longer the bad guy. Thanks for the review.

Chapter 4

"_Time is the only comforter for the loss of a mother."-_Jane Welsh Carlyle

Seto gasped and coughed, somehow able to do one action after the other, as he kept afloat with his feet. His body was completely drained of energy, he knew he would need to get out of the water soon or he might drown. First he would let his body take in all the oxygen it needed before trying to find land. It was still pouring down with rain.

Seto looked up at the bridge, mainly at the opening his car had made after it had spun out of control. Everything happened so fast; Seto wasn't even sure how it started. He didn't have time to think and remember it though he needed to get Mokuba and Steven out of the water and to safety.

Seto kicked his way to the side of the river and climbed onto the pavement that had been made under the bridge. He placed Mokuba and Steven side by side on the ground before collapsing next to them. He had to protect them… but he had no energy… his eyes were feeling heavy… the rain was beginning to lighten up… all was quiet.

* * *

When Mokuba finally regained consciousness, he heard the soft sounds of an occasional splash of water. It was no longer raining, and by the looks of how bright it was, it was sometime in the afternoon. Mokuba sat up and immediately felt pain on his side from sleeping on the cement for who knows how many hours. At first, he wasn't quite sure what had happened or why he was under a bridge.

Then he remembered; the rain, the black car, the loss of control, and the sinking. And Steven. Steven was in his arms. Did he save him? He couldn't remember, Mokuba was almost positive he had Steven locked in his arms. Maybe that was when he lost consciousness. Did that mean he saved him? Or was he…? Mokuba jerked into an upright position and turned to his right. He found Seto lying on his chest with his eyes closed, as if he were sleeping. He looked to his left. Steven was nowhere in site.

Mokuba jumped to his feet and ran over to Seto. He immediately bent down and started shaking Seto violently. "Seto! Seto! Get up! Hurry!" A groan was heard from Seto's mouth, but it was obvious he didn't want to make any sort of attempt to wake up. His eyes were shut and his body lay limp. Mokuba only shook him harder. "You need to wake up! Steven's missing!" It took a little more shaking and yelling before Seto finally opened his eyes.

"What…? What is it?" Seto asked in an annoyed voice, pushing Mokuba off him.

"Where's Steven?" Seto looked around. He didn't see Steven either; he got to his feet as well.

"Oh god… no…" Seto and Mokuba split up, looking all around for Steven. Seto ran all over, his eyes looking at every area. All he could think was how he screwed up, how he lost his only son. How all Steven ever wanted was to meet his mother and he had completely and utterly failed him. Seto felt his heart sank, until he heard Mokuba call for him.

"Seto! I found him!" Seto ran towards his brother's voice and found Mokuba standing with Steven in his arms. Steven had a rock in his hand. "He was standing by the river throwing rocks." Seto pulled Steven into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Seto commanded. Steven shrugged.

"I'm sorry Otousan, I got bored. I didn't know it would upset you." Seto hugged him a second time before standing up.

"You don't need to worry about it, Steven. Now that we're all awake and safe."

"Safe? Yeah, if you haven't noticed Bro, we're kind of hiding out under a bridge and our car is probably some fish's new home." Seto rolled his eyes.

"We'll be fine. I'll just go out into the city and rent a new one." Mokuba crossed his arms.

"I told you we should've pulled over and waited. If you had only listened to me-"

"Oh please, if that guy had been a better driver, he wouldn't have accidentally swerved into us."

"I don't think that was an accident, Otousan." Seto and Mokuba stared at Steven.

"What are you talking about? Of course it was an accident."

"No… No I don't think so. It seemed intentional." Seto and Mokuba were now staring at each other.

"Emergency family meeting over there!" Seto announced, pointing a couple feet away from where they were currently standing. Steven started to follow them, but Seto stopped and turned around. "Family that doesn't include Steven…"

"No fair!" Steven whined, as he sat down and pouted. Seto and Mokuba quickly sneaked away and turned to each other.

"What do you think happened? You think that wasn't an accident?"

"I don't know! Do you remember what happened? I can't remember anything, I think I got a concussion of some sort from the collision," Seto felt his head.

"Well, I can't be sure either. I wasn't watching the whole time. What makes you think it wasn't an accident?"

"Because I'm Seto Kaiba? Because people have wanted to kill me ever since I took over Kaiba Corp?" Seto did prove a valid point.

"I guess that's true," Mokuba thought for a moment, "But why now? I mean, no one has made any attempts to kill you or kidnap me for years. I was led to believe that they had all finally given up on killing you or taking your company."

"What if they were after Steven?" Ever since Steven had been born, Seto had kept his existence a secret. He didn't want anyone to find out about Steven because he was worried that would only bring danger to Steven's life. For many years, no one even knew Steven was born.

But at some point word had gotten out and the press was all over Seto. Apparently Seto having a child was front page worthy news for magazines. Although some of the titles did amuse Mokuba, especially ones that touched on the fact that Seto were seemingly asexual. But never the less, Steven had never tried to been kidnapped even after news had gotten out.

"I don't know Seto, I feel like they would've done that when he was baby, considering he'd be more vulnerable then. That is if they really did want to kidnap him or hurt him in anyway." Mokuba turned and looked over at Steven. He was lying back on the pavement again, staring up at the bridge above him. "I just don't get why anyone would ever want to hurt him." Seto still had a stern face. It was serious business when it came to Steven, Seto always got protective.

"Same reason they tried to hurt you. To get to me."

"So what do you intend we do, Seto Kaiba? Pack our bags and go back?"

"No… just keep an eye out for trouble."

"That's nothing out of the ordinary." Seto rolled his eyes. Both he and Mokuba returned to Steven. "Okay, so… we've decided that car crash, whatever its real intention was, is nothing to worry about."

"If you say so." Seto looked up and around.

"We better go and catch a bus or something," Seto started his way up the side of the river and back to the road when he noticed Steven still standing still, looking at his feet. "What's wrong Steven? You still want to meet her, don't you?"

"Well yeah… but…" Steven looked down in shame, "I don't know, I guess I'm a little scared."

"Don't worry Steven, there's nothing to worry about," Mokuba cut in, putting his arm around Steven's shoulder, "You have both Seto and I to look after you. If there's any danger coming your way, they'll have to get through both Seto's body and mine to get to you. Now that's what I call protection." Steven giggled and followed Mokuba and Seto up to the road on which they had traveled the day before.

"So how far away do you think is the next city?"

"I'm not sure…" Seto looked down both ways of the road that was in front of him. "I don't even know how we're going to get there. It doesn't appear as though there's a bus stop near by…" Mokuba held out his thumbs to the oncoming traffic. Seto quickly pulled him back. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hitch hiking. Duh. How else are we going to get into the next city?"

"Hitch hiking is way too dangerous! There is no way we're doing that." Mokuba spotted another oncoming car and quickly flailed his thumb in the air. The red car sped to a stop. Seto shook his head, "Great job Mokuba. Now I have to tell him we don't need a ride…" Seto walked over to the car and tapped on the car window. The car door opened and a somewhat short woman, with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, stepped out with a grin on her face. Mokuba froze up.

"What do you know? It's the Kaiba Brothers!"

"Rebecca? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Shouldn't you be in America or something? Wow, nice care by the way."

"I was… but then I came back. I go to university now." Rebecca's eyes fell on Mokuba and she smiled. Mokuba felt a chill go down his back as Rebecca took a step closer. "You know, I built this car myself… it has all kinds of special gadgets and things. If you want I could show you…" Rebecca said, fluttering his eyelashes. Mokuba was guessing this was some sort of way of trying to impress him.

"Well, we really should be going." Rebecca took another step closer, as Mokuba took another step back. "Yep, it'll be a long-"

"And what might your hansom self being doing out here?"

"We're on a mission!" Steven cut in with a child like glee. Rebecca's attention was finally taken away from Mokuba and was now focused on Steven.

"Oh! Isn't he the cutest little thing?" Rebecca picked Steven up and squeezed him in her arms. "What an adorable little boy! What might your name be?"

"My name's Steven." Mokuba took Steven from her arms.

"And now we have to go, nice seeing you, bye!" Mokuba turned to run, but Seto grabbed him from the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

"Look, Rebecca. We got into a bit of a car wreck and we need to get to Tokyo. Do you think you could give us a lift to the next city?"

"Of course," Rebecca turned back to Mokuba, "For you, I'd take you all around the world…"

"That's really okay! Cause we just need to get to Tokyo!" Mokuba stated, running behind Seto in fear. "Seto, what do you think you're getting us into? I thought you said hitch hiking was dangerous."

"And who would've thought we'd pull over an old friend. Come on Steven, get in the car."

"The adventure continues!" Mokuba sighed.

"Oh Mokuba… you can sit up front with me…" Rebecca gave him a seductive wink and Mokuba gulped. It was going to be a long ride from there to Kyoto. Rebecca happily opened the door for Mokuba and he respectfully got in. The car started and soon enough they were back on the road and back on their journey.

"So what kind of adventure are you three going on exactly?"

"We're going to go find my mom!"

"Steven! Be quiet."

"Your mom, huh?"

"That's really all we're obligated to tell you at this time." Rebecca laughed.

"Alright, alright. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," Rebecca said, "It's a good thing you got out of Domino City when you could. Some weird things have been happening." Mokuba eyed her.

"What do you mean 'weird things'?"

"That's really all I'm obligated to tell you at this time." Rebecca grinned. Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Look, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just sit back, relax, and in the next couple hours we'll be in Kyoto." Mokuba, although suspicious as to what Rebecca might do while he's asleep, discovered he really needed sleep. He turned back and found Seto had already fallen asleep while Steven was working his way to it. Mokuba turned back to Rebecca. "You don't need to be so paranoid Mokuba, I won't hurt you." Mokuba didn't want to, but he couldn't resist the sleep that soon overcame his body as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a somewhat late update, but I had a simply terrible week and I just haven't been able to focus. Not to mention writer's block hit me just as I was reaching my peak of inspiration. But I think it's beginning to pass, so hopefully you can look forward to a much more quickly update. Well, nothing more to say. See you next chapter._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

AmePiper: Thanks for the love and concern! I think I'm good to go now, and with another chapter up too! Thanks for the kind words though, it really does get me back onto my feet on days I don't feel like even trying. I'll always try to remember to smile, thanks for reminding me. Anyways, I hope to hear back from you as well.

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: Thank you for each and every one of your wonderful reviews! They were all fantastic and wonderful to read! You're very kind, and it makes me so happy that you like what I have to offer. I hope you like the sequel just as much as you liked the first story; I just know it'll be great. Thank you once again for all your kind words! And do enjoy the chapter.

Ladyguadalupe: Mokuba is quite the cutie. Yay! You like the jokes! That's wonderful. I'm never quite sure whether I'm even being funny or not, but I try my best. But just wait until you read what else I have in store for you, got some funny ideas ready to write up. Anyways, thanks for the chapter!

Chapter 5

"_My mom is literally a part of me. You can't say that about many people except relatives, and organ donors."_-Carrie Latet

"Nii-sama… Nii-sama, are you in there?" Mokuba waited patiently outside his elder brother's office. He had been knocking for the past 5 minutes and still there had been no answer. Mokuba felt the urge to open the door and walk in, but he couldn't help the feeling of intruding. Still, he had waited and politely knocked and there had still been no answer. Mokuba nodded to himself in approval, opened the door, and walked in. He found Seto was lying on his side with his back to Mokuba, motionless.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba walked over to Seto's bedside. There was still no reply. Mokuba reached over to grab Seto's shoulder when Seto turned sideways. Mokuba jumped with the sudden action. "Nii-sama!" Mokuba yelled in frustration.

"What? Oh sorry Mokuba… I didn't know you were there."

"Nii-sama I've been knocking for the past 5 minutes, where have you been all day? It's the weekend and yet I've barely seen you all day." Seto turned back onto his side and away from Mokuba again.

"Oh… you know… here…" Mokuba raised one eyebrow.

"Nii-sama, what's up with you? Lately you've been… keeping out of sight. I never see you anymore, and Steven has needed a lot of attention lately. He's 5 years old now, he still needs you around."

"I-I know he has…"

"If you know… why are you hiding?" Seto curled up into a ball and sighed.

"You wouldn't understand Mokuba…"

"Well that's no excuse at all… wait… have you been… avoiding Steven on purpose?" Seto's body tightened. There was still a silence between them. "Nii-sama, why would you want to avoid your own child? You've always been so protective of him, and now suddenly you don't want to see him anymore?" Seto rolled back over and sat upright. He looked at the ground solemnly and clutched the bed beneath him.

"It's not that I don't want to see him…"

"Then… what is it?" Seto swallowed hard and bit his lip.

"I'm… I'm afraid."

"Afraid? Afraid of what?" Seto turned his head and looked Mokuba in the eyes.

"I'm afraid of screwing up… what if I don't teach him everything he needs to know? What if I don't raise him right? What if he grows up to be… messed up…? What if I can't… protect him?" Seto got up and walked towards the window. His eyes wandered along the sidewalk outside of the Kaiba Mansion, he watched as the people walked by, smiles on their faces. It was a lovely fall afternoon, and Seto had been hiding guiltily in his office the whole day.

"Nii-sama, you're going to do fine…"

"How are you so sure? Let's face it Mokuba… I maybe a child prodigy, but I don't know a thing when it comes to being a father." Seto now moved over to his chair and sat down by his desk. He rested his arm on the desk and rubbed his chin with the other hand.

"Nii-sama…" Mokuba felt bad for his brother. Although Seto had always seemed God-like to Mokuba when he was growing up, it was apparent now that he had weakness like every other normal human being. But even though he was now seen as mortal in Mokuba's eyes, it still didn't change the way he felt about him as his older brother. "Have you ever wondered why there isn't a school that you can go to for parenting?" Seto stared at him.

"Well… no, I never really thought of that."

"Exactly. Because let's face it, no one knows how to do this job, so their can't possibly be a school for it." Mokuba could tell by the look on Seto's face that he was trying to understand, but couldn't quite grasp the concept that Mokuba was getting at. Mokuba took another deep breath to try and give it another shot. "What I'm trying to say is… there's no right or wrong way of raising a child, and the fact is no one really knows how to do it. Most just try to do the best that they can with the abilities they have."

"Well… I guess you're right…" Seto still didn't seem like he knew what Mokuba was talking about.

"Look, it's just a little word of advice. I know you're in a tough position, but you have to realize that you aren't the only one that isn't quite sure how to raise a son. I'm sure our father was just as clueless." Seto slowly nodded, looking down at the ground and trying to let Mokuba's words of wisdom sink in.

Mokuba turned away to walk out of the room when a small knock was heard from outside the office. Seto's head shot up and looked toward the door. "Otousan?" A small voice from the other side of the door said, his voice sounding so small and fragile. Mokuba looked over at Seto, watching as he twisted his chair around so that his back was facing the door. Mokuba quickly moved toward the door, but Steven had already opened it and entered. "Otousan…" He said in a quiet voice.

"Hey Steven… look, your Dad's a little stressed out right now, why we go play outside?" Mokuba tried to coax Steven into walking out of the office with him, but Steven politely shook his head and started walking towards Seto.

"Otousan…?" Steven stood beside his father, looking up at him. Seto turned his face away and said nothing. There was a silence that filled the room. The tension was killing Mokuba. The only thing that could be heard at this point was the breathing of both Seto and Steven. Mokuba hadn't a clue of what Steven might be thinking at this point about what might've been going on in his father's head.

Steven lifted a folded piece of paper that was in his hand and placed it in front of Seto on his desk. "I made this for you, Otousan. I hope you like it." Steven left the room without another glance or word towards Seto. More silence, and more tension, was left in the room, all for Mokuba to feel and deal with. Mokuba walked over to his brother's side.

Seto sat very still his eyes were locked on the piece of paper in front of them. He looked as though he didn't know whether to open it or not. Mokuba was about to take the piece of paper himself and unfold it when Seto's hand reached for it and held it. He looked at it with grave eyes and slowly unfolded it. Seto held his breath when his eyes fell upon a picture of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had been drawn. Mokuba instantly remembered the Blue-Eyes that he had drawn for his brother when he was a child. Seto turned it over and found a note written on the back.

'I am sorry if I made you mad Otousan. I know you like dragons. I love you.' It was a short and simple note, but Seto's eyes told Mokuba that it had impacted him tremendously. Seto immediately got to his feet and ran out of the room to Steven's room. Steven was happily sitting on his bed with a book in his hand when Seto came in and pulled him into Seto's arms. Steven looked somewhat shocked and surprised.

"Otousan?"

"I'm sorry Steven for what I've done. I promise you I'll never leave you again." Seto said in a low voice, squeezing Steven tightly in his arms. Steven understood and hugged his father back. Although there were still some things that confused him about his father, never the less, Seto was and would always be his father and he loved him with all his heart.

* * *

"Guys! Wake up!" Seto was the first to wake up practically jumping forward and smacking his head into the ceiling above him. Steven and Mokuba slowly awoke from their sleep, but weren't as alert as Seto was. His head was twisted back and forth scanning the car.

"What is it?!"

"Look!" Rebecca pointed out the window. All four of them stared out their windows amazed at what they saw. Big fluffy snowflakes were falling from the dark gray sky above them.

"Snow? In April?" Mokuba asked, looking over at Rebecca.

"The weird thing is the fact that it's not even close to the weather it should be for this to happen."

"Then how is it happening?"

"I'm not sure. But the same thing happened in…" Rebecca trailed off for a moment. Then Rebecca suddenly turned off the road she was on and pulled quickly into a parking space. "Get out."

"What?"

"I said GET. OUT." Mokuba, Seto, and Steven quickly got out of the car.

"Hey, what the heck is that for?" Mokuba asked, annoyed with Rebecca's sudden jerk qualities.

"I just remembered I have to go."

"But what about-"

"Look, I got you to Kyoto, didn't I?" Rebecca started up her car again about to drive away when Mokuba tapped on the window. Rebecca gave him a glare. "What is it?"

"Rebecca, wait. I just wanted to thank you for…"

"Okay thanks bye!" Rebecca sped off and back onto the road. She dangerously turned on a sharp corner and was gone from sight. Mokuba looked up at the sky, observing the snow that was falling.

"This is way too weird… it's not close to being as cold as it should be for this kind of weather." Mokuba spotted Steven playfully trying to catch the snowflakes in his mouth. Seto was standing still, observing the snow just as cautiously and closely as Mokuba had been.

"Well, we better get going."

"And where exactly are we going to get going?"

"Well, first I think we should head towards a hotel of some sort. It's probably a little too late for Steven to be up right now." Steven moaned.

"Otousan! We're on a mission!"

"That maybe so, but you still need your rest. If you don't get enough sleep you won't be able to travel as efficiently the next day." Steven gave a loud sigh.

"I guess…" Seto bent over and picked up Steven into his arms. Steven playfully resisted. "Otousan! I don't need to be carried! I'm not a baby." Seto kissed Steven on the head and continued down the sidewalk with Steven in his arms. After a couple minutes Steven stopped resisting and became very quiet. The two brothers walked silently side by side until they had reached the Hotel Kanpai.

"Welcome to the Hotel Kanpai, how can I help you?" The man at the front desk asked with a fake smile on his face. Seto managed to quickly set up a room for them to stay in. "I hope you have a good night," the man at the front desk said after handing Seto the card key to his room. Seto grunted in reply and walked way.

"Mokuba, remind me to go to the bank in the morning."

"Okay." Seto and Mokuba got into the elevator and went up. "I wonder what's up with the weather…" Mokuba thought out loud.

"It doesn't really concern me at the moment…"

"Doesn't it kind of make you curious? And what did Rebecca mean by strange things in Domino?" The elevator door opened and Seto walked out. Mokuba quickly ran to catch up with him.

"I think there are other more important things that you should be thinking about. Like how we're going to get to Tokyo from Kyoto. Or what we're going to do when we actually get there." Seto slipped the car key in and out of the door and walked into the hotel room. He swiftly made his way into the room and gently placed Steven into one of the beds, pulling the covers over him and tucking him in. Seto bent over and kissed Steven on the head one last time before walking over to the bed beside it and lying down.

"Maybe this is bigger than you and me."

"Maybe I don't care." Mokuba let out a groan of frustration.

"I don't even know why I try to reason with you. It's obvious that you're completely blind and ignorant." Seto turned onto his side on the bed, showing that he no longer wanted to continue the conversation. Once again, Mokuba was filled with rage. His brother just didn't want to listen to reality. "Fine. Be that way. I could care less." Mokuba got under the covers beside Steven and shut his eyes. Maybe sleep would be best for both of them.

Seto laid on the bed motionless for the next half hour or so. His thoughts were running in circles. Would they really succeed at finding Serenity? And what would they do for transportation? He guessed that he could rent a car somewhere. But did Seto really want to continue this journey, even though it could mean leaving an emotional scare that would remain with him for the rest of his life? Seto was emotionally scarred as a child… he was actually scarred multiple times, but he came out okay. Right?

Seto shook his head and sat up. He glanced over at the window and noticed that the bizarre snowing had come to a stop. Seto sat there silently, once again, motionless. He wasn't sure what he was going to do for the next couple hours, since he was sure that his insomnia would kick in and keep him up till the early hours of the next morning.

Seto looked over at Mokuba and frowned. Where had their relationship gone wrong after all these years? How did they go from being closer than ever to becoming each other's enemy? Seto just didn't know what to think anymore. He tried to think back to what seemed like the far distant past in an effort to figure out when or how things went wrong. But no matter how hard he tried; he couldn't seem to figure it out. Memories of him and Mokuba were a blur in his mind after the birth of Steven.

Seto got up and decided to do something with his time. He knew that thinking about the past wouldn't help him move forward in life. He slipped the card key into his pants pocket and slowly slipped out of the hotel room. Seto would just take a short stroll, maybe buy something to eat, or pay a quick visit to the bank to get it over with.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys its Kari once again with the end of chapter 5. It's been a pretty busy week for me these past couple days, but hopefully next week will be much better and I can get more writing in. That would be wonderful, wouldn't it? Anyways, hoping to update soon. I love each and every one of your reviews, thanks so much for being so supportive and kind. Look out for chapter 6. _

P.S: The thing at the beginning of the chapter was a flash back/dream. Just to give you guys a feel for Steven's childhood. I might add another 1 or 2 more in the story, just so you guys can get more of a feel of Steven when he was a young child.


	6. Chapter 6

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: Hey, thanks for the review! I'm really glad this story pleases you. It only pleases me when I know that other people are pleased by it. Anyways, enjoy!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

MaterialGirl69: Thanks for the kind words; I'm glad I'm making all the personalities interesting and new. Enjoy the chapter!

Ladyguadalupe: Yay cuteness! Yeah, Steven is really a cutie. I do love that kid. Here is more unfolding to the story! Thanks for the review.

Chapter 6

"_The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."_-Henry Ward Beecher

Seto walked along the sidewalk, letting the breeze blow his bangs in all different directions and the air fill his lungs. It was a beautiful night for a stroll; Seto tried his hardest to focus on the surroundings rather than his thoughts. The city lights were wonderful and lit the city in a beautiful way. It had kept his mind busy, for only a moment.

Once Seto was pulled out of his distraction, he remembered that he didn't know where the bank was. He spotted a man walking in his direction and asked him for directions. It turned out that the bank wasn't too far away from where he was. Seto started his walk once more.

As he walked, he noticed a convenient store up ahead, one that caught his eye. The symbol was green and orange and it read 7/11 up above it. Seto noticed that he was slightly hungry and decided to walk into the store. He looked around for a bit, but didn't find anything that wouldn't make him want to throw up. Seto's eyes spotted a pack of cigarettes near the cashier. Seto had always wanted to smoke, at least once in his life. He felt as though it was his right to try it.

Seto purchased the package and walked outside. Ripping the plastic off and opening the box, Seto examined each individual cigarette inside the package. He carefully took one out and sniffed it. It smelled slightly weird, but he guessed that it was better enjoyed if it was smoked. Seto pulled out a lighter, placed the cigarette in his mouth, and lit it. Seto took a deep breath, trying to suck it all in.

But failed. Seto coughed up smoke and gasped for clean oxygen. When he finally got over it, he took the infernal thing out of his mouth and crushed it on the ground. No wonder it causes cancer, it tasted terrible. Seto threw the rest of the package into a nearby trashcan and headed back down the sidewalk to the bank once more.

As Seto continued his walk, his mind wandered back to Serenity and what few memories he had left of her after all these years. He wondered how she was doing, how she would react once he saw him again, not to mention Steven, and whether or not she had truly made it to stardom since she left for Tokyo to live her dream. Maybe she was even more successful than he was with his company.

Seto remembered her soft smile, her shining brown eyes, and the tears that they had cried all those many years ago. He remembered the pain he had brought her and how he couldn't imagine how she would've been able to heal afterwards. Seto remembered the day Steven was born, and how absolutely amazing Serenity appeared to him about giving birth to such a wonderful son. Then, filling his heart with sorrow, he remembered how she had rejected him and left, never to be seen again.

By now, Seto was standing in front of the bank, his heart throbbing from re-opening wounds he hadn't the strength to deal with after all these years. He took a deep breath and tried to shut it away again like he always did whenever it came back up. Once he regained his cool, he entered the bank with his typical emotionless face and walked up to one of the bankers.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to make a withdrawal."

"Certainly, may I see your card please?" Seto wiped out his card and handed it to the woman. She swiped it in the machine and typed on the keyboard a bit before looking a bit confused. "Oh, I'm sorry, it doesn't appear as though you have any money." Seto's eyebrow was raised at this statement.

"Excuse me?"

"It says here you made a withdrawal earlier today and that was all the money you had left…"

"That's impossible, check it again." Seto waited patiently as the women began typing and clicking once more. She looked back over at Seto and frowned.

"I'm sorry Sir, but there's just no money in this account." Seto groaned with annoyance and walked out of the bank. He heard the woman call "Have a nice day" after him but ignored it. The woman probably didn't even know how to do her job right. Seto started down the sidewalk he had just been traveling on when panic began to creep up on him. Was he really without money? How would they manage to get to Tokyo from Kyoto without it? Seto still had some money on him, but it wouldn't be enough to get him all the way to Tokyo. Nor would it be enough to feed Mokuba, Steven, and himself for long. He quickened his pace to the hotel and walked in.

When he made it to his room, Seto didn't make as much of an effort to be silent. He quickly walked over to where Mokuba lay asleep, curled up next to Steven. Seto paused for a moment, just looking at Mokuba. He seemed so much younger when he was asleep; he almost resembled how he looked 7 years ago. Seto shook his head and snapped back to reality. Seto placed his hand on Mokuba's shoulder and pushed on it.

"Mokuba, wake up," Mokuba didn't not stir. Seto tried again, only this time harder. "Mokuba, wake up already." Seto flicked Mokuba on the nose and finally awoke him.

"Wha-What? What is it?" Mokuba asked, sitting up and looking around. "Are we dying?"

"No, but we're out of money." Mokuba rubbed his eyes and looked up at Seto.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mokuba, I just went to the bank. They told me I already withdrew all my money in my account. I don't know how this could've happened, but I'm not sure how we're going to continue our way to Kyoto." Mokuba blinked for a moment, and then all the information Seto had just told him processed in his mind.

"What?!" Seto put his hand on Mokuba's mouth.

"Ssssh, you'll wake Steven…" Mokuba threw off Seto's hand.

"Seto, do you think someone hacked into your account?"

"I don't know… I don't want to think about the people that could be attempting to come after me right now…" Seto sat down on the bed and looked at the ground. "I'm not sure what we can do."

"I think we need to get out of here as soon as we can. This could get dangerous." For once, Seto actually agreed with Mokuba. He looked over at the clock and was surprised to see that it was actually 6 in the morning.

"Let's leave now."

"Now?"

"Yeah, we'll catch a bus with what money we have left and see what we can do from there." Mokuba nodded and began putting his shoes and coat back on. Seto bent over and carefully held Steven in his arms. All three of them left just as the sun was rising above them. The air was still cool from the night before, but the rising of the sun promised them warmth in a couple hours.

They walked for the next couple hours, searching the city for a bus stop. This proved to be a harder task than first thought to be. Finally, they found a bench and sat down. "What the heck is up with this city? No bus stops?" Seto sighed. Steven stirred in his arms and woke up.

"Where are we?"

"On a bench in the middle of who knows where," Seto nudged Mokuba hard in the arm.

"Oh…"

"We're going to be taking a bus to the next city, okay Steven?" Steven nodded and understood.

"So where shall we look next?"

"Let's just rest here for a bit… I've been up all night," Seto said. It wasn't like him to show weakness, but his body was finally beginning to cave in on himself. His eyelids felt heavy and his heart slowed. But he had to be awake he had to keep an eye out for any danger that could potentially hurt him.

Mokuba patiently sat there in silence, looking around at the city, trying to plan the next move. Where would they look next? Kyoto was a foreign city to both Seto and Mokuba so it wasn't going to be easy getting around. Then Mokuba heard something in the distance and looked. It sounded like, like a bus. Mokuba's eyes widened as he spotted a bus coming their way.

"Seto! Look! There's a bus!" Mokuba jumped to his feet and ran over to the street.

"Mokuba… what are you doing?"

"Getting us a ride!" Mokuba ran into the middle of street and held out his arms. Seto's heart automatically stopped.

"Mokuba! No!" The bus was coming towards him fast and Mokuba made no attempt to get out of the way. It was coming closer and closer, Seto was now on his feet and running to Mokuba. But the bus was too fast. It was so close.

And then it stopped. "I told you I'd get a us a ride!" Mokuba said with pride, running over to the side door. The driver opened the door and held an angry look on his face.

"Hey kid, what the hell do you think you're doing running into the middle of the street like that?"

"I'm sorry Sir, but I was hoping maybe you could give us a ride to Hamamatsu. See, we're on our way to Tokyo-"

"Look kid, as much as I loved to help you, this is a tour bus not a public bus. I have people who have paid to see Japan for themselves."

"Why have we stopped?" said a girly voice from within the bus. Then a short woman appeared in front of the bus driver. Mokuba's eyes widened at the site of her. She was a tall woman, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She also looked energetic, as if she was going to explode at any moment now from pent up energy, which also made her seem like a three months old puppy. But the one thing that really threw Mokuba off was her giant chest that looked as if her top might explode from trying to contain them.

Steven leaned over to Mokuba. "Why does she have basketballs stuffed in her shirt?" Mokuba elbowed Steven in the arm.

"Oh, hello there," she said happily. Her eyes went from Mokuba, to Steven, and landed right on Seto. Now she held the same shocked face that Mokuba did as he was staring at her. "And what might your names be?" she said to the group, but keeping her eyes on Seto. It was easy to tell that she fancied Seto from the look of her overly eager face. Seto, although slightly shocked by the woman's appearance, was not fazed by it.

"My name is Seto Kaiba, and this is my son Steven, and my brother Mokuba."

"My name is Daiana." Her eyelashes fluttered after stating her name. There was an angry groan heard from behind her.

"Look, are we going to get going now or what?" She turned around.

"Hold on Resuta…" She turned back towards the Kaibas, "So all three of you are heading to Tokyo? We can take you there."

"Daiana!"

"What? It wouldn't hurt anyone…"

"I don't want to pick up every person that runs into the middle of the street! This is no public bus; this is a ligament tour bus. And you're a tour guide!" Daiana leaned forward and whispered.

"We'll either get you to Tokyo or bring you somewhere close to there." She winked at Seto. Seto did not in response.

"Well, hurry it up already if they're coming along!" Daiana stepped back and let Seto, Mokuba, and Steven come on board.

"Kaibas, I'd like you to meet the other passengers." Mokuba raised one eyebrow. All three observed the people on board and noticed that all their eyes were on them. Seto immediately noticed that all the people on board were extremely old. "You can go and find your seats while we get back on course to Tokyo. Seto, Mokuba, and Steven hesitantly made their way down the aisle. Seto jumped into the first empty seat found, next to an old woman with very thin hair. The woman looked him from top to bottom and gave a shaky smile.

"It's my son! He's come back from the war!" She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. For an old person, she sure had some upper body strength. "Oh I've missed you so much Rori! Your father and I were almost positive you had died when you got shot in that house fire incident! But we knew you wouldn't be dead long…"

"Um… excuse me?"

"Oh that's Mrs. Jakki…" Daiana bent over and whispered into Seto's ear, "Her son died a long time ago, but she still think he's alive… even though we keep telling her he's dead. Actually, to be truthful, she actually shot the poor boy." Mrs. Jakki was smothering Seto with kisses by this time.

"Now Rori, have you done your homework?" Seto stared at her with no response. "I said… DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK?!" The seemingly harmless lady now looked evil as evil as ever and flipped out a knife. Seto jumped back at the sight of the blade.

"Oh Mrs. Jakki! I thought I took that away from you…" Daiana reached over and took it from Mrs. Jakki's hands, "You silly girl, don't play with knives."

"Um… Daiana, can I move?"

"I'm sorry Seto, but I think all the other empty seats have been taken by Mokuba and Steven. Although…" Daiana thought up a brilliant idea, Seto could tell by the way she pushed her face right into his, "You could sit up front with MEEEEEE…"

"No that's okay!" Seto responded quickly, hoping this would make her go away. She frowned.

"Okay…" she said in a sad voice, turning to go back up to the front. When she did, her boobs smacked Seto in the face. Seto blinked for a moment, slightly baffled, someone's breasts before had never quite hit him. This let him know that it was going to be one VERY long ride to Tokyo.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys, here's where the story starts to get humorous, at least I think so. I'd like to dedicate this chapter and the next couple chapters to my friend, whom I have dubbed the internet name of Becky the Sexy. She's awesome, she always helps me when school kills me, and inspired me for the current idea that is playing out. I love that kid. Oh, and btw, 7/11's do actually exist in Japan. Who'd have known? Anyways, I hope you still like my story, as I always do, and have a great day!_


	7. Chapter 7

AmePiper: Sorry I haven't replied to your PM as of yet

AmePiper: Sorry I haven't replied to your PM as of yet! I was SO busy last week with school and the ending of the quarter, I barely had time to write. Which may explain the fact that I am so late with updating. I'll try and reply to your PM sometime soon though. Thanks for your reviews, as always, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: I'm terribly sorry for this not-so-fast update, but I'm sure you'll forgive me and that this chapter will make up for the lateness. Thanks for your review and enjoy the chapter!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ladyguadalupe: You don't go to 7/11s? 7/11s are the best! Anyways, yes, it seems our rich hero is not so rich after all. But who knows what will happen next… thanks for the review!

Chapter 7

"_A mother understands what a child does not say."_-Unknown

Mokuba quickly jumped into the first seat he found on the bus. He took in a long breath after sitting down and finally began to relax when he noticed the old woman sitting next to him was staring him down. Mokuba turned his head and looked at her. It wasn't just the fact that she was staring at him that freaked him out, it was the grin she had on her face as her eyes glanced up and down his body. Mokuba swallowed a big gulp and forced words out of his mouth. "Um, hello?" he said in a nervous voice.

"Hey there, cutie…" she said, the grin remaining on her face. She gave him a quick wink before scooting closer to him. "My name is Arisu." There was a silence between him and her as Mokuba sat in fear and Arisu kept her eyes on him.

"Oh… well… that's a… nice name…" Mokuba said awkwardly, regretting his choice of seats on the bus. She scooted even closer to him.

"You really think so?" Arisu leaned forward and got her face right up close to Mokuba's, "What might yours be?"

"Uh… Mokuba…"

"How cute…" The silence continued to haunt Mokuba as he tried to keep his cool. He wasn't quite sure what to say, but at the same time didn't want to say a thing. This lady scared him more than most women had ever scared him. "I use to be a dancer," She began, moving back into her seat and looking at the ceiling as she remembered her past. "I use to be very big in Matsue, the place in which I grew up. People would come from all over Japan to see me dance…"

Mokuba wasn't quite sure why Arisu was telling him this story, but knew it would've been rude to interrupt her as she told it. He sat silently and listened. "…My dream was to be big enough to dance in Tokyo. In those days, that dream seemed possible. I was loved by all, and every boy on every corner would've died to have me." Her face went from bright and hopeful, to dark and sad. "…I should've known the fame would get to me. That the love of the fans wasn't always true…" She turned her head to look over at Mokuba.

"At one point I was not only loved by many, but I had fallen in love with one of my fans, a young man. At least, that was what he was when I first fell for him. I was barely the age of 18 and he was already 21. He had promised me many things when we first met, and I believed most of what he told me. But then… well… something happened somewhere along the line and that was when I had lost it all…"

"I'm not exactly sure how or when it all went wrong… but it did and it cost me everything. My career, my passion, and the one man I loved most…" Arisu paused for a moment, turning away to gaze out of the window, "It turned out that he didn't feel the same way towards me…" All the awkwardness and fear Mokuba had felt only a few moments ago had disappeared and been replaced with sympathy. The poor woman had been disappointed and heartbroken in her life, and it was obvious that the pain hadn't fully gone away. Arisu sighed and turned back towards him.

"That was a long time ago when that happened… and now I am just a simple old woman taking a tour to the city that I had once dreamed of going to." Mokuba looked down in shame and sorrow for feeling such things towards the woman, it was obvious now that she was just a kind, old lady.

"I'm sorry to hear that things turned out that way…" Mokuba said softly.

"Oh, it's alright… really, it is. Fame and glory can do terrible things to a person, I'm just glad I wasn't famous enough for it to destroy who I was as a person. It may have broken my heart, but it never broke my spirit." Arisu placed her hand on her heart and closed her eyes, smiling at the fact that she had made it out of show business without too many scars. This caused Mokuba to think about Seto and when he had first taken over Kaiba Corp. Had fame changed him and who he was as a person? Had it broken him down in some way?

When Mokuba came back from his thoughts and his pondering, he found Arisu staring at him, the grin had returned as well as the awkwardness Mokuba has felt before. She scooted over to him once again, "I may be old now, but I still know how to work it. You'd never believe the way I can seduce men at this age…" Mokuba shut his eyes in hope that she would go back to the heartbroken lady she was just a few seconds ago instead of the creepy child molester that she was now.

* * *

Steven jumped into the last available seat on the bus. It was almost all the way in the back, and he was pretty far away from where Seto and Mokuba sat on the bus. But it was the only seat left to sit in, so Steven would make the most of it. The old man he was sitting next to, though, didn't look too thrilled about the idea of Steven sitting next to him.

"Who the hell are you?" The man said in a musky voice, looking him up and down with his one eye. Steven observed him. He gave off very strong vibrations of unfriendliness, and his appearance didn't help either. The old man had a bit of a hunch and very baggy clothes on. A bandanna was tied around his head, and he also had very tough looking biker gloves on. The one thing that stood out the most about him though was probably the eye patch he had over one eye and all the patriotic American pins that were all over his shirt.

But Steven was, thankfully, an open-minded child, and didn't see these things as threatening. "My name's Steven Kaiba," he said in a cheery voice. The man only scowled more at the sound of his perkiness. "What's yours?"

"Michael Smith is the name. Although I 'pose you can call me Mike."

"That's a weird name…"

"That's no weird name, it's an AMERICAN name!" the man yelled, Steven jumped back in the sudden rise in volume. "Now the only weird thing is why you have an American name, when it's clear your just another Jap!" Steven blinked multiple times, staring at the man in confusion. Mike didn't seem angry, but his voice made it look like it.

"I'm not a Jap, I'm a Kaiba."

"No! You are a JAP. You're JAPANESE, which makes you a JAP!"

"Oh… then what are you?"

"An AMERICAN. A man who's from AMERICA, the greatest country in the whole wide world!" Steven shrunk in his seat. Now he wasn't sure whether he wanted to talk anymore or not, Mike seemed like he was really mad now. Steven wished he knew what Mike was so angry about so he could apologize to him.

"Oh… well I guess that's cool to be from the greatest country in the world…" Steven said softly, "I-I am rather fond of this country. It's been nice to me so far…"

"Oh sure, it's nice to you NOW! You weren't exactly around during World War II! If you had been around then, you wouldn't have liked it so much. You probably would've been wishing you were living in the greatest country on the planet instead of this place!" Steven wished he knew what Mike had been talking about. What was World War II? And was there a World War I? This was all very confusing to Steven.

"If it's so great and Japan… isn't, why are you here on a tour of it?" Mike glared at Steven. This made Steven more confused, he didn't want Mike to hate him but it seemed as though every time he tried he only made him mad.

"I'm here because I wanted to make sure that before I died I knew what kind of dump Japan really was compared to America!" Mike yelled.

"Dump? Japan is not even close to a dump, it's a country!" Steven yelled back. Tensions were beginning to rise between the two. Mike glared at Steven; no one had ever dared raise his or her voice against him. Most were deathly afraid of Mike and his strong beliefs, but Steven appeared to have strong beliefs as well even though it was apparent he wasn't sure what was going on. His scowl went away and his glare disappeared.

"You're an okay kid." Now Steven was even more confused.

"Wait… what?"

"You've got spunk, and a spirit much like my own when I was just a kid like you." Although Steven remained confused, the fact that Mike wasn't yelling did calm his mind and brought down his guard a bit. "Now tell me, what are you doing on this here tour bus?"

"Well…" Steven began, "I'm on a mission to find my mother."

"A mission, huh? Where exactly is your mother?"

"She's in Tokyo. That's where we're going. You see, it all started just a couple days ago when…" Steven continued to tell his tale to Mike, whom a couple seconds ago seemed like an enemy, and now was kinder and willing to listen to what Steven had to say. The tale would be told in the greatest of detail from Steven's perspective. Further up the bus, Mokuba would be cringing in fear from Arisu, as Seto was slowly losing the last bit of energy he had and falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

A man, just barely the age of 20, stepped into the kindergarten classroom at the time of 3:00 p.m. He maneuvered his way through multiple laughing and screaming children that rushed past him, and finally made it to the teacher's desk. The woman looked up from the papers in front of her, her wrinkles looked more prominent in that moment because of the frown she held on her face. It was apparent that seeing this man didn't make her happy.

"Why don't you have a seat over there, Mr. Kaiba? I'll be with you in a moment." Seto silently nodded and walked over to the small circular desk that the woman had pointed to. He sat down and looked around the room as he waited. The alphabet had been taped all along the four walls of the classroom, along with colorful pictures of friendly animals and numbers. Seto didn't expect the classroom to look much different.

The woman walked over to the table and sat down across from Seto, a clipboard in hand as well as a pen. "I'm glad we're finally getting the chance to talk Mr. Kaiba, like I had explained in the e-mail, I've been very concerned about your son lately…"

"I see… and why might that be, Mrs. Kodai?"

"Well, Steven is a very bright boy, don't get me wrong. He's very smart, intelligent, and is never a trouble in the classroom."

"Then what might be the problem?" Seto asked, slightly annoyed. He didn't like wasting time over stupid things.

"I've noticed that your son doesn't like to… talk."

"Talk?"

"He almost never speaks a word. And it doesn't appear as though he communicates with the other children as well. One afternoon during play time I observed him as he sat all by himself in the corner of the classroom, simply reading a book, not really trying to play with all the other little boys and girls."

"Oh, I see… well, that's very strange to hear." Mrs. Kodai sighed.

"Does Steven talk at home?"

"Yes, almost all the time. He talks to Mokuba and I about a lot of things that are on his mind. He's very expressive."

"Oh, I see… does he talk to his mother at all?" Seto froze up at the sound of the word 'mother'. Even then it scared him to think about, and pained him to imagine.

"…No, the mother isn't with us at the moment." Mrs. Kodai wrote something down on her clipboard without looking up.

"I see… and where exactly is she?" Mrs. Kodai looked back up into Seto's face, "Is she… dead?"

"No, no… she's simply… absent right now."

"I see… and where might she be?"

"I'm not sure. She left after the birth of Steven." Mrs. Kodai wrote more things on her clipboard. Seto was curious as to what she might be writing and whether or not it would be a threat to him and his way of life.

"That's not good to hear… so the boy has no female influence, I'm guessing?"

"That's correct. He lives with my younger brother and I, that's all."

"Mr. Kaiba, have you ever thought that maybe Steven might be negatively affected because of his mother's absence?" Seto glared at Mrs. Kodai now. He knew this was the part where she would start accusing him of being a bad father, at some point every conversation got there when there was talk of Steven's mother.

"Of course I have, but I don't think that means he'll be plagued for the rest of his life or live with some sort of handicap because of it. I grew up without parents of any sort, and I came out fine." Seto winced at that statement, he was pretty sure he was far from turning out fine, but he had to keep up that image for now.

"I'm not sure of that, Mr. Kaiba. Every child needs some sort of mother-figure and I know for a fact that a father is incapable of raising a child all by himself." Now Seto was angry.

"Oh really? Is that what you think?"

"It's not a thought, Mr. Kaiba, it's a fact."

"You're more ignorant than I thought! How dare you say I am incapable of raising my own child" Seto stood up from the table with his briefcase in hand, "I'm sorry I even wasted my time…" Seto turned away and began walking towards the door.

"Don't think this'll be the last you're hearing of this, denying a child a mother is a crime!" Mrs. Kodai called after him. Seto didn't care what she thought, nor did he think there was anything she could do about the situation. He would forget about their encounter and go home.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys, Kari is here with chapter 7 of "Mother May I?"! I'm sorry for the slightly late update; you know how school goes sometimes. So I'm guessing you all figured that last part was a flashback and the beginning of the next chapter will probably be the finishing of that flashback. You all knew it was coming, admit it! Anyways, I'm glad you guy are still enjoying this and hopefully the next chapter will come faster than this one. Have a nice day! _


	8. Chapter 8

AmePiper: I know, I said I would return your PM. I swear, I'm working on it! I just felt that you and all my other wonderful reviewers whom have been so patient and kind deserved a fast update. I'm so happy to hear that the story is humorous! Because half the time I try to make it humorous, I feel like it's not or that it's… I dunno, a failure. But I suppose that's just me worrying too much. I swear to you there shall be a PM coming your way soon! Thanks for being so patient and understanding with me.

Xblackrosefirex: I can't wait till Steven finds his mother either! I'm glad your liking the sequel, and thanks for the review!

Ladyguadalupe: Hahaha, I really liked your review. It made me laugh, and I'm glad your finding the seemingly sad story still slightly humorous. And I updated as fast as I could just for you! I hope you like it, thanks again for the review!

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: Yay! You're one of the few people who actually replies to my review responses, therefore your on my happy list(not all reviewers HAVE to respond or anything, it just makes it easier to respond to them in the review response part, haha) Yay for the story being humorous! I am loving the fact that people are enjoying that part of the story. Thanks for the review!(I hope you enjoy the fast update)

Journey maker: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 8

"_With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood."_-Isadora Duncan

The woman looked around, her eyes ever so judgmental and rude as they analyzed everything in the house. "I see… so this is the dump in which I will be staying at?" Seto growled with annoyance.

"If you haven't noticed, this is a mansion, not a dump," Seto spat. The woman gave no sign of listening or caring as to what Seto had to say. She walked around the house, touching things and observing things. "What exactly are you doing?" Seto asked accusingly as he watched her act as though she were observing a crime scene.

"Getting familiar with the environment in which I will be living with." Seto gritted his teeth in anger but tried his best to calm himself down. There was no use in getting mad, she was here by court order and would remain here until the order lifted. Seto left the room in frustration, rushing to his office and his only sanctuary. Mokuba was, of course, not far behind.

"Come on Nii-sama, don't let her get to you…"

"How can you say that when my home is being invaded by some stranger who thinks my child is in need of help?"

"It's not your fault that Steven's kindergarten teacher decided to call child services and filed a court order to have her here…"

"Oh sure, it's easy for you to say… this only makes me seem and feel like a failure…" Seto walked over to his office chair and sank into it letting his body hang for a moment. It felt as though his every move was going to be monitored from now on ever since the court sent Megumi there. Steven's teacher decided that his situation was drastic enough to bring to court and then decide that Steven needed some sort of female-figure in his life. That's when they sent Megumi. Megumi was supposed to be the female figure that was sent for the sole purpose of positively influencing Steven's life and help him to grow up 'normally'.

"Kaiba… Oh Kaiba!" Megumi called from downstairs. Seto sighed with frustration before getting up and walking out of the office.

"What is it??"

"Where is that child that child of yours? I'm supposed to be raising him!"

"He's in his room reading," Megumi started making her way up the stairs and towards Steven's room. Seto stepped in front of her. "I'd advise you to leave him be."

"Excuse me?"

"He's reading a book, you can try and 'influence' him later."

"I don't think so Kaiba. If you haven't gotten the memo yet, I'm going to be calling the shots from now on." Megumi shoved past Seto and into Steven's room. Steven looked up from his book and into Megumi's unfamiliar face.

"Hello?"

"Hello Steven, my name is Megumi and I'm going to be your mother." Steven stared at her for a very long time before shaking his head and letting his eyes return to his book.

"You're not my mother."

"Maybe not your mother by birth," Megumi made her way across the room and sat down on the bed beside Steven, "But your new mother from now on!" Steven eyed her. She didn't give him very friendly vibes and he was beginning to get a little frightened by her sudden appearance and ideas of motherhood.

"I think you've come to the wrong place lady, I don't want a new mother. I have my Otousan."

"I'm sorry to say Steven, but your father isn't nearly enough o raise you properly." Megumi reached over and wrapped her arm around Steven's neck, bringing him into a tight embrace, "But there's no need to worry, I'm here to save you from living a life of shame and misery." Steven couldn't help but feel as though things could only go downhill from there.

* * *

Seto ran from room to room, his eyes were frantically searching and searching. When he was done with one room, he would sprint down the hall to the next, and the next. This made Seto hate the fact that they lived in a mansion; there were so many rooms to search and Seto felt as though his mind might explode before he got the chance to search all of them.

He flipped opened the door of the next room and, because he was in such a hurry, had almost forgotten it was Mokuba's room. Seto froze as Mokuba looked up from his computer and over at the doorway. "Nii-sama?" When Mokuba observed the current state Seto was in and noticed the sweat beaded on his forehead, Mokuba got worried and rose from his seat. "Nii-sama, are you alright?"

"Mokuba, have you seen Steven?" Seto asked, completely ignoring Mokuba's question. Mokuba shook his head in dismay.

"I'm sorry Nii-sama, but I haven't seen him for a while. Maybe we'll pass in the hallway sometimes, but he's always with Megumi these days." Seto's hand was clutched into a fist as he looked back out the doorway he had just entered.

"How dare she takes away my son from me…" Seto's voice was low and firm. Seto's eyes widened and froze when he spotted Megumi and Steven walking up the stairway and towards Megumi's room. Seto broke into yet another sprint towards them. "Steven!" He said in happiness, opening his arms to pull Steven into a hug. Steven's eyes lightened at the sight of his father as well, and opened his arms to return the hug, when Megumi pulled Steven away from Seto and kept him from hugging Steven.

"I'm sorry Kaiba, but that'll have to wait another day." Seto froze; his arms remained in mid-air, empty and without a small child in his arms before returning to his sides. "Steven and I are going to spend some motherly time together."

"Megumi, you've been spending 'motherly time' with my kid for the past week, I've barely had a chance to have my… well, fatherly time with him."

"Oh you've had him for the past 5 years, don't deny him a mother's bond."

"But you're not his mother!"

"This conversation is OVER Seto Kaiba!" She scuffed, taking Steven into her arms and entering her bedroom, the door closed behind her. Seto's body filled with boiling anger. He wasn't going to take this any longer, he had a right to see his child and that was that.

"You're not the one who makes the rules around here!" Seto yelled, throwing the door open with anger. Megumi didn't look the least bit intimidated by Seto's frustration or actions.

"Oh really?"

"Megumi, give me Steven RIGHT NOW. He is MY son and I am going to spend time with him!" Megumi frowned, she didn't like where this was going. Steven's eyes lit up once again with hope as he started walking towards his father, but the light faded when Megumi placed her hand on his shoulder and ordered him to stop.

"Kaiba, if you want to play it this way, fine. But I can say whatever I want to the court about how you've been treating this child and they'll be required by law to believe me and have Steven taken away forever." Seto's heart stopped at the thought of Steven being taken away, the idea of Seto never being able to see him again. It was too much to handle, and in that moment, Seto knew he had lost.

Seto let the anger vanish and his face showed sign of defeat. "Okay… I'll leave you alone…" he said in a saddened voice. He avoided looking into Steven's eyes before he shut the door behind him, just as Megumi had wanted. Seto sat down beside the door, brining his knees up and letting his hands lay limp by his sides. Seto didn't even notice that Mokuba had seen the whole thing and was standing right in front of him.

"Nii-sama, are you going to take that? Isn't it obvious that she's abusing her power?"

"Of course it is, but that doesn't mean I can do anything about it."

"Yes you can! You're a child prodigy, Nii-sama! You can do anything you set your mind to, and there's no doubt in my mind that you can put that witch back where she belongs." Seto stared blankly at the ceiling. He shook his head.

"I don't think that's going to happen Mokuba…" Seto turned his head to the side and looked away from Mokuba. Mokuba was baffled by the way Seto was acting and how he had completely given up on himself.

"But why Nii-sama? Why are you acting like this?"

"BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE I CAN DO!" Mokuba took a step back. Seto hid his face in his hands. "I-I… I don't want to lose him…" Mokuba wasn't sure what to do in response to Seto's actions. He felt the urge to hug him or at least show some sort of physical sign of affection, but decided against it. Mokuba let his head hang for a moment before walking away in silence.

* * *

The following night Seto lay motionless in his bed. He felt neither sleepy nor awake. Seto simply existed in that moment. It pained him to look at things in that way, but he wasn't sure how to read his emotions anymore. Seto was so afraid of losing Steven, it seemed as though as long as he was still in his house, he would still be happy. It was hard to swallow, but Seto knew it was for the best.

Then the door opened slightly. Seto's heart stopped at the sound. Who was coming into his room at this time of night? It was so dark in his room he couldn't see the figure. Was it trouble? Should he have been afraid that there was someone in his room? Seto lay perfectly still as his ears sensed the figure coming closer and closer to his bed. The light was flicked on and Steven stood at Seto's bedside.

"Steven?" Steven smiled at the sight of Seto, "Steven!" Seto grasped Steven in his arms tightly and pulled him into Seto's bed, hugging and kissing him. Seto buried his head in Steven's thick brown hair, feeling totally and utterly happy. It felt like ages since he had been able to hug his son and enjoy his presence, his smile, his being. Everything that Seto didn't know mattered but now it did.

"I missed you Otousan!" Steven said, trying to return the hug as best he could with the tiny arms he had. Seto smiled and hugged him once more before realizing it was almost midnight.

"Steven, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Otousan, I needed to see you…" Steven leaned in closer and whispered into Seto's ear, "I don't like Megumi very much. She's very boring. But don't tell her that." Seto was slightly confused by this.

"Why would you care if I told her?"

"Because I don't want to hurt her feelings." Seto gave a small smile ad felt the urge to chuckle. Steven was such a good person in all, Seto knew he would become one of those people you just couldn't hate for being who they were. There was a silence between father and son for a moment before Steven spoke up. "Otousan… I miss you so much… I hate being away from you…"

"I know… I feel the same way Steven…" Seto ran his hand through Steven's hair repeatedly, soothing Steven's bottled emotions and sorrow. Seto didn't want this moment to end, he wanted to spend all the time in the world with his son and hated the fact that the very next day, he wouldn't see Steven for who knows how long. "Look Steven, I know it doesn't look good now, but I'm going to think of something to get you back."

"You will?!"

"Yep! I just need to find evidence that would put her away for good…"

"Oh… evidence is like… things that show that people are bad guys, right?" Seto nodded in the dark.

"Oh, well… then I know some evidence?"

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Megumi steals."

"What?!" Steven's hand shot out of nowhere and was placed on Seto's mouth, closing it.

"It's true. I watch her steal money, and statues, and cards…" Seto removed Steven's hand from his mouth.

"…Cards?"

"Yeah! Like the card that is your favorite… the one with the dragon. She took all three of them."

"…She will pay for this…"

"Otousan… you're not gonna tell on me, right? Megumi made me promise not to tell you, but then she took your special card and I knew you had to know!" Seto ruffled Steven's hair and smiled. Steven was so naïve and innocent at the same time. Seto pulled Steven close and let his headrest on Seto's chest. Steven snuggled up close to him.

"Don't worry Steven, nothing bad will ever happen to you. No matter what happens, I will always keep you safe."

* * *

**A/N:** _And that concludes the flashback. I know I didn't really clear cut finish it, and now that I think about it, it makes me feel slightly… I dunno, bad, but yeah, basically the woman gets arrested for stealing and that's what happens. I just didn't feel like adding that part in cause I feel as though it would've been too short and slightly annoying. Well, at least for me. I hope you guys enjoyed the fast update; the next chapter shall be current time. Thanks for reading!_


	9. Chapter 9

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: I'm glad you enjoyed it. And just as a bonus helping, here's yet another fast update!(here's my secret; hang out with writers, they inspire you to do amazing things) Thanks for the review and here's the next chapter!(Just as you love fast updates, I love fast reviewers, so keep 'em coming!)

Journey maker: Yay! Another fast update! How does she do it? The world may never know. Thanks for the review!

Xblackrosefirex: I think I deserve another 'Yay!' for this uber fast update as well. Yes, Megumi truly is the epitome of two faced, but don't let that stop you from reading the next chapter! Thanks for the review!

AmePiper: You maybe wondering, why is she writing ANOTHER chapter when she JUST updated and she hasn't returned my PM? Well, rest assured, I will be getting to that soon, hopefully. I blame the fast update to my amazing new writer friend, Rena! Gosh, just hanging out with that kid made me just want to write and write and write! So here I am, with yet another chapter, after I just gave you one only a few moments ago. Well, I'm sure you all are enjoying how quickly this fic is moving along. Turns out this story is going to be longer than thought to be, but I'm sure you won't have any problem with that. I wish I was sarcastic, I'm really not. I have this friend who's sarcastic all the time. He's actually quite the funny lad. I love that kid. Anyways, must continue on to the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 9

"_Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved."_-Erich Fromm

When Seto awoke from his slumber, he had almost forgotten where he was. His eyes wandered the bus for a moment, observing his surroundings for a moment until he realized he was on a tour bus and remembered what he was doing on the bus. Seto stretched for a moment, yawned and scratched his head before standing up and looking around. That was when he noticed that no one was on the bus. Had they already arrived at Tokyo? Then panic overcame him. Mokuba and Steven were nowhere in site.

Seto's heart began to pound faster and faster and his legs suddenly felt weak underneath him. He made his way through the aisle and out of the bus when he found that the bus had been parked on the side of the road and the whole bus was sitting on the grass, eating. "We've stopped?"

"Hey Seto! You're up! Come over here and eat with us!" Daiana called from where she sat. Mokuba was sitting and eating with her as well. Seto gave a sigh of relief as he walked over and sat beside her. "You were out for quite a bit, huh Seto?" Daiana added taking another bite off of the sandwich she had in her hand.

"Oh, was I?" Seto asked, although he wasn't very surprised. He hadn't been getting much sleep since their journey had begun. Daiana reached over and offered a sandwich to Seto.

"Would you like one?"

"Oh… that's okay… I don't know how to pay you…"

"You don't need to pay me, you can just have it," she said with a smile. Seto looked over at Mokuba for a moment, as if to ask him if it were safe to eat the sandwich or not. Mokuba held up the sandwich in his hand and gave him thumbs up with the other hand.

"…Thank you…" Seto said quietly, taking the sandwich with his hand and slowly taking a bite of it. When the food made it through his mouth and into his stomach, he realized how hungry he was, and hadn't realized how long it had been since he had eaten. "Where's Steven?"

"Oh, he's sitting with Mike over there." Daiana pointed over at Steven, whom was sitting very close to Mike with excitement across his face. Mike looked as though he were in the middle of telling Steven an epic story. "It looks as though those two have really hit it off." There was silence between the three for a moment as they were enjoying their meals.

"Mokuba was just telling me about your guys' journeys that you've had in the past. Looks like you guys have run into a lot of trouble over the years." Seto glared at Mokuba, he didn't like information about their past being shared. Mokuba simply stuck out his tongue at Seto and went on eating. Seto rolled his eyes and did the same. "Were you ever scared when the bad guys had you?" Daiana asked, her eyes big with amazement and wonder. Of course, Seto put on his tough guy face.

"Of course I wasn't scared, I'm Seto Kaiba I'm not scared of anyone…"

"Oh really now?" Mokuba said, grinning. Seto took off a piece of his sandwich and threw it at him.

"The only times I would get scared was when you would almost get yourself killed."

"You say that as if it was always my fault that I would get stuck in those situations."

"Well it usually was your fault because you always managed to put yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Oh as if Seto! If you weren't such a jerk to everyone no one would ever have a reason to come and kill me! It was all your fault whenever I was in danger!" Mokuba stood up from the circle that they had been sitting in and walked away in anger. Seto growled with annoyance at his brother, taking another angry bite out of his sandwich. Daiana looked on with a worried face.

"I'm guessing you and your brothers aren't on the greatest of terms…"

"It's really none of your business." Daiana recoiled back into herself, ashamed and slightly embarrassed. They went on eating in silence for a few moments more before Daiana tried speaking again.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you." Seto said nothing and pretended as if he didn't hear her. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I understand. Everyone's got something no one likes to talk about." Seto still went about his business, as she wasn't even there. This only made Daiana feel even more alone upset about what she had said. The silence between them had continued until something flew and hit Seto in the cheek.

Seto blinked with bewilderment as he turned his head toward Daiana. Daiana's face was red with embarrassment as she looked down at her shirt in shame. A button was missing on her button down shirt. Seto's eye twitched, "Was that your…?" Another button broke off of her shirt and flew into Seto's face.

"Dang it! Why does that always happen whenever I wear a buttoned shirt?!" Daiana growled in frustrating and glared down at her amazingly giant chest. It was a fact that, although boobs weren't pleasing to Seto's eyes, Daiana's still managed to surprise Seto every time. When Seto's eyes wandered back up to Daiana's face, her eyes were watery and on the brink of tears. Seto immediately felt ashamed for what he had done.

"Are… are you alright?" Seto asked, already aware of the answer, but still felt the need to ask. Daiana brought her hands up to her face and hid there for a moment before speaking.

"Sometimes I hate my body…" Seto became speechless. Should he reply? Seto wasn't sure what or if he should say anything. When it came to girls, Seto was completely unfamiliar with them and how their brains worked. No one would've ever guessed that a child prodigy such as himself would have been so clueless and naïve when it came to the subject of women.

"People think I'm some sort of slut just because I've been… well-endowed, I suppose. Boys look at me in a way that absolutely disgusts me." Daiana sniffled and wiped away the tears from her face. "I haven't met one single decent man whom looked at me like I was just another human being, not one… except…" Daiana turned to Seto, "For you…" Now Seto was fearful, he felt the way he had when he had been going out with Serenity, and when he was almost positive she was falling in love with him.

"Oh…" It was all Seto could really think to say, he was hoping the conversation wouldn't continue any further. Daiana smiled and looked at him with fond eyes.

"Seto Kaiba… I just know I would feel ten times better if you could just do this one favor for me…" Seto gulped. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he could tell he wasn't going to like it. Daiana's eyes sparkled with hope, which wasn't a good sign for Seto. "Would you please kiss me?" Seto had his mouth open, already ready to deny her such a favor, but the way her eyes looked and the way they sparkled with such hopes and dreams, Seto simply couldn't. After all, she was helping them tremendously with their journey.

"Fine…" Seto grumbled.

"YAY!" She squeaked, already putting herself in kissing position; leaning forward with her lips perked out. Seto took in a deep breath, leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Seto pulled away quickly and tried not to look disturbed. When he looked back over to Daiana, hearts had replaced her eyes. "That was SO amazing…" Seto rolled his eyes.

"Yes… I'm sure it was everything you ever dreamed of…" Seto said.

"I can't wait to tell the others!" Daiana squealed in happiness, jumping to her feet and running towards the others.

"Wait! That wasn't part of the deal!" But it was too late Daiana had already run off and started to spread the news at the tops of her lungs. Seto shook his head and sighed. How did he get himself into these kinds of situations? He was hoping that Daiana realized that he only did that to make her feel better…

"Nice kissing there, big brother…" Seto twisted around to see Mokuba standing behind him, a huge grin on his face, "You and her would make a mighty cute couple."

"Shut UP."

"Oh come on Seto, you gotta admit she's cute…"

"I said shut UP Mokuba!"

"And such a nice figure…"

"I swear Mokuba, if you don't shut it right now pain is coming your way…"

"I'm sure she wouldn't run off if she ever had a child with you." Mokuba's words lingered in the air. Mokuba's heart stopped and he was automatically ashamed of what he had said. It had slipped out, or maybe it didn't. He didn't mean it that way, he was sure of it. None of thoughts ever made it out of Mokuba's head though, leaving Seto shocked and thoroughly angry with him for what he had said. Seto got to his feet.

"Mokuba… I… You…" Seto wasn't even sure how to describe how angry he was with Mokuba. How could he even utter such words in that kind of way? Why would he even think of saying something low like that? Seto felt the urge to hurt Mokuba in ways his mind had never imagined before in his life.

"Seto… I…" Seto's fist rose into the air, his eyes blazing with anger. Mokuba flinched with his arms in the air and shut his eyes, his body was readying itself for an impact of a thousands punches and beatings. Seto's fist came down ready to get out all the anger that boiled within him, but just before his fist hit Mokuba's body, memories flashed through his mind.

The promise he had made long ago, the day he had made his promise, echoed through his mind, and his fist froze in midair. Mokuba was his little brother… and even though he was 18, that didn't change. Seto was supposed to protect him until the day he died, because that was his duty. Seto's fist was undone and was drawn back to his side. Mokuba opened one eye and watched as his brother had turned away. "Seto?"

Seto didn't respond. He didn't say one thing. Seto walked back onto the bus and that was that. Mokuba felt completely terrible for what he had done. He really hadn't meant it to come out that way, and he was shocked by the fact that he had even said it. Mokuba had just lost himself, he got so hyped up and that he just ran his mouth without thinking about what he was saying… well, at least that was what Mokuba was trying to reason himself with. It didn't matter, because in the end, for whatever reason, he had hurt his brother in a way that he had never hurt him before. And he was mad at Mokuba because of it.

Mokuba looked over at Steven whom had fallen asleep in the grass listening to Mike. Mike was asleep as well, his head hanging limp due to the fact that he had fallen asleep sitting upright. For some reason the sight of the old man sleeping this way caused Mokuba to chuckle a bit before walking over towards them.

Mokuba bent down and picked Steven up in his arms, he looked so peaceful when he was asleep, so very peaceful and calm. Just as Mokuba was about to turn away, a voice spoke to him.

"He's a good kid…" Mike said in a sleepy voice. Mokuba looked back down at Mike, his eyes were just beginning to open back up and his body awakening from his sleep. "He's pretty smart too…"

"Yeah… he is…" Mokuba said, looking down at Steven with a smile.

"I don't understand why any mother wouldn't want him…" Mokuba gasped and looked over at Mike. Mike looked at him with an unfazed face.

"Don't act so surprised, you know it's true." Mokuba's grip on Steven tightened a bit at the thought of Serenity abandoning Steven, just after he was born. She had never even held him after she had given birth. All she did was have him and leave. In that moment, he hated Serenity's guts for what she had done, even if Steven wasn't fully aware of the reasoning behind her absence.

"Yes… it is true…" Mokuba shook his head, "I just don't understand why things like this have to happen to good kids like Steven…"

"There's no reason as to why these things happen, it just does. But it's pointless to ask why…" Mokuba stared at Mike.

"Then what are we suppose to do?"

"Ask how. Because why is a question that may never be answered, but there is always a solution to be found when you ask how. You can wallow in your pain for the rest of your life, but the first step will always be taking action and moving forward." Mokuba was a bit surprised that all of this wisdom was coming from Mike, but then again, he had been around for a while. "But you don't have to take it from me… after all, I'm nothing but an old man with a love for his country and his own set of painful memories."

* * *

**A/N:** _Okay guys, you thought it wouldn't happen this fast, but oh man, did it. I updated on the same day, can you smell the intensity? I sure can. I promise you that the next couple chapters are going to be way more exciting than these last two(you know, exciting being less talking and more stuff actually happening) It's starting to look like this story might be a long one, but one cannot predict how long one's story might be until it has crossed the finish line(whatever that means) Well, I hope you're all having a good night, well, it's night where I am at least. Thanks for reading and look out for another fast update!(we hope) _

_This chapter is dedicated to Rena Redhead for being such an amazing friend!_


	10. Chapter 10

Xblackrosefirex: Mokuba isn't mad at Serenity for walking out on Steven. He had said that in an effort to be funny, but realized right after he had said it that it wasn't the right thing to say. And Seto isn't in love with Serenity, he just got really mad because anything related to the fact that he's raising Steven on his own because Serenity walked out on him, is an incredibly sensitive topic. He was basically mad because Mokuba had brought up something he hasn't exactly been dealing with head-on for the past couple years. I'm sorry it was so confusing! That was my fault, I promise I'll do better.

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: Well you can find the answers to blackrosefire's questions in her review response. And Serenity isn't going to be the bad guy, I can promise you that. I like fast updates too, I'm so surprised at how quickly these chapters are jumping out lately. Anyways, enjoy and sorry for the confusion!

Journey Maker: Aw, I feel like all of my sweet little reviewers want Seto to be in love with Serenity. I'm sorry, guys, as much as we'd all love that to happen, it's not. As you might be able to tell, Seto and women just don't go together, period. I, personally, cannot see Seto with any woman, really. He's too complicated and has way too many issues, not to mention he doesn't have the social capacity to understand women at all.

AmePiper: I swear I'll reply to your PM once I get off this writing high! I just can't seem to stop writing… it's insanely enjoyable to me at this very moment and I only seem to make time to do that and only that(which isn't good school wise, but oh well) I promise, promise, promise I'll get to it soon. Inn the meantime, I'm hoping my fast updates are still enjoyable to see and read! And you don't need to worry about Seto being in love with Serenity, he's not(between you and I, I'm not all that fnd of her either, but I always try to write her with an unbiased point of view)

Chapter 10

"_A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking."_-Helen Rice

The bus ride continued shortly after the incident between Seto and Mokuba. When Mokuba board the bus, his eyes were mainly focused on Seto. Seto had on his normal emotionless face and refused to return even a glance towards Mokuba. This hurt Mokuba in many ways, but for the most part made him hate himself. He felt like such an idiot for saying what he did, and he knew that his brother was justified by being angry. Mokuba would just have to wait it out a bit and hopefully things would go back to the way they were… even if the way things were was still bad between the two.

The bus's engine was started up and they were back on the road one more. Daiana announced on the speakerphone that Shizuoku was coming up soon and that they would be passing by the city shortly. This actually surprised Seto, he hadn't realized how far they had actually gone, since there were so many other things occurring on the bus that tend to distract him. That was when the reality of the situation hit him. They were actually going to Tokyo; they were actually going to find Serenity. Seto wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about this.

This was also a hard topic to mull over on top of what had just happened with Mokuba. Seto had never felt so much anger towards Mokuba in his whole life. Although Seto was aware that Mokuba was sorry and hadn't meant for it to come out that way, it still made him mad. Anything related to Serenity and Steven was a sensitive topic, especially sine the whole world was against him. Because Serenity was gone, this automatically put him and Steven in a not-so-great category in society. The last thing he would ever need was his brother harassing him about it along with everyone else in the world.

There were some things that couldn't be changed in his life, and what had happened with Serenity was one of them. For the rest of his life, Steven would be looked down upon as the unwanted child, the mistake, and ultimately the bastard. The words and thoughts were already starting to hurt Seto emotionally, he couldn't even imagine what was going to happen when they did finally meet Serenity and see what she thought. In that moment, Seto wished with all his might that Tokyo would magically disappear off the face of the earth in the next couple days so that he wouldn't ever have to face his past and Serenity ever again.

Just as the bus had entered the city of Shizuoku, the bus came to an immediate and unexpected stop. Seto's head fell forward and smacked into the seat in front of him. He rubbed his head and looked to the front of the bus. "What the hell is going on?" Daiana was now seen running down the aisle of the bus, but she didn't look like her usual self. Their wasn't a huge smile plastered on her face, no, it had been replaced by a look of panic and worry. She ran to Seto's seat and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You have to get out now."

"What? I thought you said that-" Daiana pulled him out of his seat and dragged him down the aisle of the bus.

"There's no time to talk." She pulled him out of the bus and threw clothes at him. Seto, although completely off-guard, managed to catch the clothes in his hands. He looked at them with confusion before looking back up at Daiana.

"Um… why again are you giving me clothes?" Daiana had her head turned and her hand over her eyes.

"Hurry, change into them."

"WHAT!?"

"I'm not looking, now hurry up."

"But-"

"I told you there's no time to talk!" Seto, although thoroughly confused by Daiana's actions, decided quickly that he would do what she said. He managed to switch out of his clothes and into the new clothes in no time. They didn't exactly fit him, nor did they fit the style he was use to. The clothes he wore were very baggy, definitely a size or two bigger than he actually was, and the colors completely contrasted to his personality.

"Okay, I'm done."

"Good!" Daiana left for a moment and ran back into the vehicle. When she returned she had Mokuba and Steven in her hands and pushed them towards Seto. "I would advice you to stay away from the heart of the city if you know what's best for you."

"Daiana, what is going on? I have no idea why you're doing this…"

"I'm sorry Kaiba, but there's just no time. You'll thank me later for this." Seto spotted tears welling up in her big blue eyes again, her heart calling out to him. Seto was proud of him for a slight second that he had actually managed to pick this up, considering him and women were like completely different worlds. But there were more important matters at the moment.

"Daiana, wait… I have to thank you for what you've-" She was already in the bus, the doors beginning to close in front of her.

"You can thank me another day! I'll never forget you Seto Kaiba, remember to stay safe and be careful!" And with that, the tour bus sped off, leaving the three Kaibas standing all together, confused and cold.

"What was that about?" Mokuba asked, being the first to speak up. Seto turned and looked at him, only giving him a glare before turning and walking towards the city. Steven quickly ran up to follow him.

"Wait up Otousan!" Mokuba sighed and did the same. They all walked side by side, observing the city around them. It was darker than Kyoto, and slightly unfriendlier than the last city they had been in. The city seemed a bit more run down, sending out some bad vibrations to all three of the Kaibas. They all walked in silence for what seemed like hours until Steven finally spoke up once more. "Otousan… where are we going?"

"I'm trying to find a payphone…"

"Oh geez… I hope this doesn't end up like our search for a bus stop. I am not jumping in front of another moving bus." Seto ignored Mokuba's comment completely. Mokuba frowned Seto had completely shot him down. He would probably have to get use to this though, Seto tended to hold grudges for a couple days, possibly even weeks. That was just how he was. Seto stopped his head was turned in the direction of a bar that was across the street from where they stood.

"You both wait here, it'll only take me a second. I just need a pay phone to call Isono, possibly get him to wire us some money for the rest of our trip." Seto said, walking across the street towards the bar. Mokuba and Steven ran after him.

"Wait Seto, you can't possibly be serious about going into a bar, of all places, to get to a pay phone."

"Mokuba, watch Steven while I'm gone. Make sure nothing happens to him."

"Hold on Seto…"

"MAKE SURE HE'S SAFE!" Seto yelled, his face was now only inches away from Mokuba's. Seto's icy blue eyes stared down Mokuba so deeply it looked as though he were trying to see into his very soul. Mokuba, although scared shitless by Seto's actions, remained calm and controlled, returning a glare just as vicious as his brother's. The brothers continued these intimidating glares for a while, until Seto turned away. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, got it?" Mokuba crossed his arms and said nothing. Seto went into the bar.

Seto entered the bar with a straight face. The bar was darker than it was outside, and even scarier. The one thing that really scared Seto, though, was the men inside. All of them looked rough; tattoos, bandanas, and gang symbols were seen everywhere in the bar. Seto was hoping no one would him, even though it was quite obvious he stuck out like a sore thumb.

All kinds of smells roamed around in the air, it was mostly of beer and vomit. Seto scrunched up his nose in disgust, the bar was the least likely place you could find a guy like Seto Kaiba in. He had never been to a bar in his life, and knew why he never wanted to be in one ever again.

Without many more observations, Seto decided to finally take a chance and began to maneuver his way through the crowds of people in the bar. This would prove to be an easy task, considering he was so skinny, squeezing through small places and avoiding people would be a breeze. Seto made his skillful way through the bar. He spotted a pay phone on the other side of the bar and his heart leaped. Finally something was going to go right on this trip.

Seto had almost made his way there, when a man turned into Seto with a glass of beer in his hands. His glass collided with Seto's arm, which caused it to tip sideways onto the man. Seto's heart jumped at the sight. The beer seeped into the man's shirt and dripped all the way down. The look on the man's face promised Seto that this wasn't going to be good. He tried to keep his straight face on and look him right in the eyes.

"What the hell was that, man? You don't know how to move around without knocking into people?" the man barked, his eyes narrowing onto Seto.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you turn. I'd be happy to replace your drink for you," Seto said politely, he wasn't sure if the man was buying it through because his face told Seto that he wasn't. The man threw down the glass onto the ground, causing it to shatter into a thousand pieces at both of their feet.

"You think you can walk in here, spill my beer, and get away with it?"

"Um… yes?" The man's fist was already in the air. Many fists were in the air soon after that, punching and slapping him in all different directions. It wasn't before long that Seto was on the ground, curled up on the ground with his eyes squeezed shut. Seto was almost positive at this point that he was no longer being pummeled by just one person, but by two or three other guys as well. Kicks were now in the mix of all things, and Seto wasn't sure where half of the blows were coming from anymore.

Seto didn't know how much more he could take. Laughing was heard from all around him, Seto didn't know how such torture could be amusing to all of them as he lay there in a bloody mess at this point. Everyone hurt, and t just kept hurting. Someone had poured beer on him somewhere within that time as well; the laughing grew louder after that. Seto was wet, bloody, and in pain. He just wanted to make a phone call, that was all he had wanted to do.

But to his dismay the beatings only continued, until everything had stopped. In an instance, the kicking, punching, and drinking stopped. Seto opened one eye and looked up. The men had all frozen they had their heads turned towards the entrance of the bar. Seto squinted his eye, trying to see who it was through the legs of the men around him. It was no use, he couldn't see a thing and he was fearful that if he got up, they would attack him again.

"What's going on here?" A voice said from a far. It sounded strange, yet familiar to Seto. The man whom had the beer spilt on him spoke.

"Ah, nothin. What would make you think something was happening?"

"Why the hell are you all crowded in a circle then?"

"Uh… no reason…" Seto heard footsteps and they were coming towards him. Should he try to act dead? Maybe if he acted dead he wouldn't get killed. "Look man, we didn't want no trouble, but then this guy came in and started harassing us and spilling beer, he was asking for it, I swear!" The man replied in a fearful voice. Whoever this was, he was obviously someone to be feared. Seto shut his eyes once more and attempted to look dead. The footsteps became louder and louder until they were right next to Seto. Seto flinched his eyes still sealed shut, and his body becoming tense.

"…Seto Kaiba?" Seto opened one eye and looked up. He gasped and saw none other than Tristan Taylor standing before him.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys! I hope you're satisfied!(I don't know how I keep getting so inspired all the time, it might be because I keep reading all of my new friend's awesome stories. She's such an amazing writer) So instead of doing things like homework and studies, I keep adding and adding onto my ever awesome story that you all enjoy reading! I told you the next couple chapters were going to be exciting, and I left you guys with a cliffhanger! It's a mean writer thing, but in time you will forgive me(besides, I'll probably update tomorrow by the way I'm working, so don't get too mad) Thanks for reading! I hope you all can keep up with my updates!;) _


	11. Chapter 11

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: I see what you're talking about, but that's the thing about Seto, he is a human scientifically(like, that is what he actually is) but otherwise… it's like he's not. He's programmed himself to get rid of most human qualities, really, in an attempt to protect himself in a way, because of all the abuse he suffered during his childhood. Yes, every human yearns for love, but he gets that love from his son. Of course, it's not like a romantic love, but Seto doesn't yearn/need that kind of love. But that is, also, my opinion. I dunno, that's how I've always seen Seto. He thinks of himself as a machine, but that fact that he closes himself up shows he's more human than ever. Anyways, thanks for the review!

AmePiper: Damn, I was suppose to PM you, wasn't I? Mer! I really need to get to that sometime soon, this is becoming quite shameful. Thanks for the review! Sorry I haven't Pmed you back yet!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review! Enjoy!

Ladyguadalupe: Aw! Thank you so much! Your review made me feel so very happy, thank you. I've been wondering if this story has been a failure or not at being a humor story, but you have made me feel so much better about it. Here's another exciting chaoter just waiting for you to read! Enjoy!

Chapter 11

"_There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one."_-Jill Churchill

"Tristan?!" Seto couldn't believe his eyes, it was Tristan Taylor, one of Yugi's little followers. Only now he looked more like a threat. He had on biker boots and was covered in black. His clothing had all sorts of spikes and skulls sewn onto them. He wore a rough looking leather jacket, and held a biker helmet with one arm.

"I can't believe this, are you alright?" Tristan bent over and held out a hand for Seto to grab. As much as he hated receiving help, especially from a former Yugi follower, it seemed as though he was the only one keeping the crowd from beating up on him again. Seto took the hand and let Tristan help him to his feet. It pained him to stand up, but he tried to cover it up as much as possible. The men gathered around were shocked and surprised.

"Tristan, do you know this punk?" One of the men asked. Tristan glared at him and put back on his tough, biker look on his face.

"Look, you guys better quit starting fights or I'm going to have my gang hunt you down. I'm tired of having to come down here every so often to clean up every single scarp you have with someone."

"But Tristan-"

"I told you I'M SICK OF IT!" And like puppies, the men moved away in fear. Seto looked at Tristan with an even more surprised face. Was this the same Tristan he knew in high school? It couldn't be how could someone like that put so much fear into men like these. "When I come back, there better not be a bloody mess on the floor."

"Don't worry Tristan, you can count on us" one of the men replied, before Tristan hauled Seto up and out of the bar, barely on his feet. When they had finally made it out, Tristan carefully set Seto on the ground. Mokuba and Steven ran over to his side.

"Otousan! Are you okay!?" Steven kneeled beside Seto, looking at all the cuts and bruises on Seto's body. Mokuba, in the meantime, was staring in completely and utter awe at Tristan.

"Tristan? Is that you?" Tristan smiled with pride.

"Yep, like the jacket?"

"I'm going to admit, this is the last thing I would've seen you as if anyone had ever asked me what you would've become in 7 years…" Seto replied, coughing in pain afterwards.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Tristan smirked.

"But, I don't get it… I mean, wow. You clean up well."

"Thanks little buddy," Tristan said happily, ruffling Mokuba's hair as if he were a child again. "So what exactly were you doing in a bar causing trouble at this time of day? I never thought you to be a drinker, Kaiba."

"I'm not… I went in there to use the pay phone…" Seto looked down with embarrassment, he couldn't believe he actually had to be saved by Tristan.

"Oh, you need a phone?" Tristan reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, "Here you go." He tossed the cell phone into Seto's hands. Seto looked at the cell phone as if it were his life and soul.

"FINALLY!" Seto rushed a couple feet away from Steven and Mokuba as he made his call. Mokuba looked back up at Tristan.

"So how did this… well, happen?" Mokuba asked, still surprised and a little confused about Tristan new look and social status.

"Oh… well, I'm not sure how many years ago I became this way, I suppose it just sort of happened. After Serenity had broken my heart all those many years ago, I just got on my bike one day and rode off into the sunset… then found myself here, of all places."

"Oh… okay…" Mokuba eyed Tristan, he just didn't seem like the old Tristan he once knew, but it had been a couple years since they had last met. Tristan's eyes fell on Steven with curiousness.

"And who might this be?"

"This is Steven… Seto's son." Tristan's eyes grew wide.

"Seto's kid?! Really?! Wow, I never saw that one coming… who's the keeper of Seto's sperm?" Steven looked from Tristan to Mokuba.

"Mokuba, what's a sperm?"

"NOTHING!" Mokuba glared at Tristan, "You best keep your mouth shut for the rest of the night, or else. I don't care how many studs and skulls you have sewn onto your vest, I'll still kick your…"

"Bad news guys…" Seto announced, walking back over to the three of them. "I couldn't reach Isono… I don't know where he could possibly be though, I specifically told him to watch the house while we were gone…" Mokuba sighed.

"This means we're out of money… great, how are we supposed to get to Tokyo now?"

"Tokyo? That's where you're going?"

"Yeah… why, you think you can help us out?" Tristan smiled and nodded.

"Stick by me, guys, I'll hook you up with something fast." Seto rolled his eyes. Tristan kicked up his kickstand and pushed his motorcycle along the sidewalk with Steven, Seto, and Mokuba following from behind. By this time, night had already taken over the city in darkness, Mokuba's eyes wandered around the city, observing every detail of it. It didn't look like very bright or happy, Mokuba tried to stay as close to Tristan as possible since he seemed to be a threat to others in this strange city.

When they came to the edge of the sidewalk, they waited patiently as the cars sped by in front of them. Seto pressed the crosswalk button and waited.

"Hey look! Our house is on TV!" Steven exclaimed, pointing to a television that was in the window of some sort of electronics store. Seto turned and looked at it. Steven wasn't lying, there it was, a full view of the Kaiba mansion. Seto and Mokuba pushed by the people who were huddled around the television to get a closer look.

"I'm standing here in front of Kaiba mansion where investigators have already broken into and began their search of the premises. Seto Kaiba, the owner of this home and Kaiba Corporation, has been missing for the past 10 days now." A picture of Seto flashed onto the screen. Seto looked over at Mokuba, wondering if he had any clue as to why people would be intruding their house. Mokuba shrugged, he was just as confused as him. Steven made his way through the people and pushed his way to Mokuba's side.

"Seto Kaiba is the number one suspect right now for murder in the first degree. His brother and his son have also been reported as missing and are suspected to be accomplices in this brutal murder. There had been some reports of the three Kaibas riding aboard a tour bus that was traveling across Japan. Police had tried contacting the bus, informing them that there was a murderer on board and that forces were on their way to protect them, but the call was unanswered. Police soon tracked the bus down and pulled it over, but no Kaiba was found."

Daiana came onto the screen now, Seto's eyes widened. Had Daiana sent him off to protect him? Was that why she had him get off the bus and change his clothes? "Seto Kaiba was never on this bus, and even if he had been, I know that he would've never killed anyone. Seto Kaiba is a kind and caring man whose fighting for a good cause." Seto's jaw fell slightly ajar, he couldn't believe it. Daiana was protecting him, he had never done anything for her, expect maybe kiss her…

Seto came out of his thoughts when he noticed all the people who were also huddled around the television were now eyeing him with suspicious looks. People were glancing back and forth between the TV and Seto as if to try and make a mental comparison of the two. Seto quickly grabbed Steven and Mokuba and ran off to where Tristan stood, staring at the TV as well.

"Kaiba, I can't believe you would actually kill someone!"

"Tristan, we need to get out of here, NOW."

"I could get into major trouble if the police find me helping you…" Seto grabbed Tristan by the collar and pulled him right up to his face, where his blue eyes would look deep into Tristan's soul and scare the living crap out of him.

"Listen to me TAYLOR, I don't care what you are in this city, but to me you are no threat. Now, you're going to help us escape or I WILL make you pay!" Tristan nodded quickly out of fear and submission. Seto let go of his collar and pushed him to the ground. His eyes looked around, scanning to see if people were still suspecting of him. There wasn't a second to lose they needed to get out of there.

* * *

"Here it is." Tristan took out a remote control in his jacket and pressed the button. The garage doors opened before them and revealed their new vehicle. Seto eyed it with suspiciousness, while Mokuba and Steven stared at it in complete awe. "Isn't she a beauty?" A blazing red motorcycle stood up right on its kickstand. The engines glimmered, even in the darkness, and it's paint looked flawless. Mokuba tried to make a run for it, but Seto threw out his arm and kept him back.

"Tristan, I needed a car, not a death trap on wheels," Seto growled.

"What are you talking about, Kaiba? This is perfect for going to Tokyo! And it's possibly the coolest ride in all of Shizuoku." Mokuba wrestled Seto's arm in an attempt to run to the motorcycle, but Seto's arm wouldn't budge.

"If you haven't noticed, Taylor, there's three of us."

"I know that. But the third is just a little guy… he'll fit if you put him up in front."

"Are you mad? You're going to get us all killed." Mokuba pushed and shoved, but Seto wouldn't let him by, "Mokuba, would you quit it?" Mokuba bit Seto's arm and then made a run for it. Just before he could make his dash, Seto grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, sending him to the ground. Mokuba fell with a thud and a frown on his face.

"Look man, you wanted a ride, and this is all I've got. If you have no money, there's not really another choice for you to make." Seto sighed; it was true what he had said. This was probably the only option he had. Seto looked down at Steven and noticed his eyelids beginning to droop down.

"Okay… I'll take you up on your deal. But I have one last favor to ask, can we stay for the night? I promise we'll be gone by tomorrow morning."

"Of course dude, whatever you need to do. Follow me."

"Don't call me dude." Seto and the others followed Tristan around the house and through the door. It wasn't a huge house, but it was cozy. Tristan flipped on the lights, it was actually pretty well kept too.

"If you guys need anything else, just help yourself. My stuff is your stuff." Tristan walked through the hallway and turned into another room. Mokuba looked all around the room, curious as to what Tristan might have in his very own house. He wanted to explore a bit, but Seto tugged at his shirt and directed him in another direction.

"But I wanted to…"

"Mokuba, your 18, act like it." Seto and Steven walked up the stairs and into a bedroom, with Mokuba following from behind. Mokuba hated being bossed around by Seto, he always looked at him like he was a little kid. At the same time, he could still be mad from what he had said earlier. Mokuba didn't want to mull about it for long though, he was pretty tired.

Seto already had Steven set up in bed, pulling the covers over him and kissing him on the head. "Goodnight Steven, sleep well…" Seto was about to turn away when Steven called for him.

"Otousan?"

"Yeah?"

"Will… will my mom be happy to see me when we find her?" It was hard to say, Seto hadn't the slightest clue himself what Serenity might think or say. He had been trying to figure that out for himself ever since their journey had began. But the real question was; what should he tell Steven? Seto took a deep breath and sat down on the side of the bed, placing his hand on Steven's.

"I'm not sure Steven…" he said truthfully and honestly.

"Do you think she'll be happy?" This was becoming too painful.

"Yes, I'm sure she will be," Seto had to lie he had to. He couldn't bear to see doubt on his face, or the pain that might've overcome it. Steven was his one and only child, and Seto would've risked anything for his happiness even if that meant lying to him, only for a bit longer. Mentally, Seto told Steven he would repay him someday for all he lies he had told.

"Thanks Otousan," Steven said quietly, curling up on his side and snuggling into a comfortable position under the covers. Seto gave a faint smile, before getting up and walking out of the room. Mokuba was sitting beside the doorway, looking at the ground.

"How long are we planning to lie to him?"

"Mokuba, I'm really not in the mood to talk about this." Mokuba stood up.

"Don't you think he has a right to know?"

"Look, we're going there, aren't we? He'll find out soon enough…"

"So that makes it right to lie to him?!"

"Would you keep it down? I just put him to bed…" Mokuba threw his arms in the air with frustration.

"Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Because your not a father," Seto barked, turning his back to Mokuba and walking down the hallway.

"I may not be a father, but it's not like you know what you're doing." Seto stopped.

"I may not know what I'm doing, but you're not a father, period. You'll never understand me until you have a child of your own." Seto walked away and left Mokuba angry and disappointed. He sat back down on the floor, looking down. His eyes felt very watery he hid them in his sleeve as he slowly cried. Mokuba didn't want his brother to hate him anymore he wanted things to go back to how they use to be. Back when they both loved and cared about each other. Mokuba was tired of fighting a pointless war. He wanted his Nii-sama back.

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys! Kari is here with a surprising not as quick update. But I'm sure you guys can forgive me, after all, I supplied 4 chapters in less than 4 days. It'll be good for you wacky kids to get a break, hahaha. Well, I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this story, but this seems to be a normal cycle for me. Never the less, the moment I get your reviews I'm sure I'll feel differently. You guys always make me feel so much better, thanks a bunch! I'm sure there will be a chapter 12 coming your way soon enough…_


	12. Chapter 12

AlienDemon: Becky the sexy?! Is that really you?! Oh my gosh! HIIII! I love you! I can't wait to see you tomorrow! Oh geez, this is so exciting! Thanks for your review!

Materialgirl69: Thanks for the review!

UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary: I'm glad you liked how Tristan's personality contrasted because, the truth is, Yu-Gi-Oh's been off the air for a while and I really didn't remember how to write him. I mean, he's Tristan, practically the most useless character in the whole show!(in my opinion) But, at least it's enjoyable(this means I'm so good, I know how to wing characters!) Here's the latest update! Thanks for the review.

Ladyguadalupe: You have to love those perfect mixes;) Oh man, I am loving all this love for Tristan! I mean, seriously, who knew I could wing it, this well?? I certainly didn't, but anyhow. Here's the next chapter, thanks for the review!

AmePiper: I've pretty much responded to all of your review in my latest PM, so I think I'm okay with not making this long(at least I hope I responded to everything) Well, I must run off and actually do my homework before my parents get angry with me! Thanks for the review, as always.

Chapter 12

"_Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all."_-Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Tristan yawned, stretching his arms and legs before walking into the living room. He found Seto already awake and fully dressed, his eyes staring intently at the television. Tristan glanced up to the TV the news was still going on about Seto and the murder. Seto had his hands folded and his eyes focused.

"You're up early," Tristan said, breaking Seto's focus from the television. Tristan walked over to the refrigerator, opened it and grabbed a protein shake from it. "You're not much of a sleeper, are you?"

"I don't have the happiest of dreams… besides, it's a waste of time in of itself." Tristan walked over to the couch that Seto was sitting on, looking at the television. "They think I'm running away from the law, and that that's the reason why I've disappeared. At least Isono hasn't ratted me out." Tristan sat down beside him.

"Kaiba, did you really kill that man?" Seto turned his head to Tristan. Did he care whether Tristan thought he was a cold-blooded murderer or not? Would it matter if Tristan saw him as something of that title? Seto wasn't sure, but he told him the honest and truthful answer anyway.

"No, I didn't. Besides, I'm no coward. If I had really killed anyone, I would've owned up to it. But right now, I have a much more important mission…" Tristan eyed him.

"Which would be…?" Seto glared.

"It's none of your business, Taylor."

"Hey, if you haven't noticed, I'M the one helping YOU. You're the one who's being tracked down for murder, I could go to jail for helping you! The least you could do was tell me what the hell you're doing out in Shizuoku." There was tension between them. Although Seto hated to say it, Tristan was right. He was doing him a huge favor, and had already helped him out tremendously. Seto sighed; he hated being a man whom always kept a fair bargain.

"Alright… we're on a mission to… find Steven's mother."

"His mother? Where is she?"

"Tokyo. That's where we've been going this whole time, but because of multiple inconveniences, it has proved to be a lot harder than first thought." Tristan nodded. Sometimes the only explanation for those kinds of things could be bad luck, or karma possibly. Tristan found that with every journey, there always seemed to be all kinds of inconveniences. It was very bothersome when one was on a mission.

"I see… well, I believe you. The news may say you're a killer, but I still see you as that egotistical jack ass whom loves to walk over people, but at the same time, could never kill." Tristan gave him a half smile. Seto was guessing he was supposed to take that as a compliment. Footsteps were heard in the hallway, Tristan looked over to see who was coming. Seto's eyes wandered back to the TV and news reports. "Good morning Mokuba." The tension returned, only this time between both the brothers.

Mokuba walked silently over to the couch where Tristan and Seto sat, choosing the farthest spot from Seto to sit in. Tristan eyed them both with confusion. "Is it me, or have you guys been acting a little weird lately?" Neither of them said a word. Both had many things going through their minds, all of them were possibly related to the conflict at stake. "You guys seem… distant." Tristan's thoughts meant nothing to either, they both knew what the problem was, but had too much fear to confront it. Tristan got up. "Well, I'm going to make some breakfast. Shall I make some for both of you?" They nodded.

A couple minutes later, all three of them sat at the table. Seto and Mokuba were sitting on opposite ends while Tristan was still trying to figure out what exactly the problem was. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" They ignored Tristan and continued their meal, always watching the other out of the corner of their eye. Mokuba lifted his fork to bring to his mouth, swinging his arm a little quickly that time out of nervousness and knocked over his cup of orange juice. The juice splattered and spread across the floor. Tension was more evident.

"Sorry Tristan, I didn't mean to knock it over. I'll clean it up," Mokuba said to Tristan, even though his eyes were focused on Seto. Seto placed his fork down on his plate.

"Mokuba, I've been thinking…"

"Oh really?"

"Maybe you should stay here in Shizuoku with Tristan." Mokuba stood up.

"What?!"

"This journey is getting too dangerous and now with the cops on my tail, it would be safer for you to stay."

"As if! It has nothing to do with the police; you just don't want me coming along! Admit it!"

"That's not it at all, Mokuba…"

"Why don't you just admit that you hate having me around??"

"Oh please Mokuba, you're acting like a child."

"Oh, so now I'M acting like a child? You think just because you're a dad you're 'so much more mature and wiser' than me? Guess what, your not. In fact I discovered a very long time ago." Now Seto was the one to get up from his seat. He moved away from the table, nodded at Tristan as a way of saying thanks, and started towards the hallway. Mokuba wouldn't let this conversation be another that would end abruptly. He ran in front of him. "Wait a second, Seto, don't think you're going to get away that easily."

"Look Mokuba, you're staying here and that's final. It's clear to me that it is you who is the one with the problem here."

"Stop talking down to me as if I'm your child! I'm your brother! Your BROTHER."

"You were the one that told me you saw me as your father."

"Yeah, that was before I discovered what a lousy father you were! I take back everything I ever said about you being a good dad!" **BAM!** And just in that moment, in only a couple seconds, it had happened. Mokuba lay on the floor, speechless. Seto's fist still floated in the air.

The deed had been done, the string of tension had finally snapped. Blood was already started to find it's way to the edge of Mokuba's mouth, close to the impact of the blow. They had both known somewhere along the line, this was going to happen, but what they hadn't known was when it was going to happen, and in what situation. There was a whimper in the distance. Seto looked up to find Steven standing in the hallway, completely horrified by his father's action towards Mokuba.

"Oto-Otousan…?" Seto had never felt more ashamed in his life. His fist finally dropped down, his fist undid itself, making it harmless.

"Steven… I…" Seto didn't know how any kind of lie or explanation could make up for what had just been done. Steven took a couple steps back, shaking, as he was leaning against the wall in an effort to not fall over as he did. At one point his foot slipped on something, and he fell over. Steven quickly twisted back onto his feet and disappeared around the corner. Now he looked back down at Mokuba, in shame. "Mokuba…"

Mokuba pushed himself back onto his feet… his face was trying to remain cool and emotionless, but it was hard to hide. The tears were fighting very hard to come, but Mokuba wouldn't let them. He could barely stand on his own two feet; his body was shaking so much from fear. "Don't worry Seto…" Mokuba said, his voice quivered as he spoke, "I'll explain everything to Steven. In a way that won't make you look like the bad guy."

Seto was going to admit, he was very confused by this. Mokuba was going to cover up for him, after what he had just done? After all he had said? Why would he want to do something like this? Mokuba turned to go after Steven, but Seto grabbed a hold of Mokuba's shoulder. Mokuba punched it away with such force, it scared even Seto. Seto could feel all the anger Mokuba was holding back from within his blow to Seto's arm.

"…Why…?"

"Because Seto… we're brothers…"

"But…"

"Unlike you, I live up to what is expected of a brother, even if it means you'll never receive the same in return." Mokuba left Seto, feeling like the biggest jerk alive. Tristan was speechless, which was good, because there was nothing more to really say. The whole scene had played out accordingly, and it was self-explanatory as well. It was obvious to Tristan now that Mokuba and Seto's relationship would never quite be the same.

* * *

"Hey Steven…" Mokuba said in a kind and gentle voice as he entered the room. Steven looked up from the ground and at Mokuba's face, the horror came back as he pointed to Mokuba's mouth.

"Mokuba… you're…" Mokuba wiped his mouth and looked down at his sleeve. Blood. He was still bleeding. Mokuba wiped the rest away with his sleeve and tried to give him a fake smile.

"See? All better…" Steven shook his head in protest.

"No… it's not all better… Otousan… he-he hurt you…" Mokuba walked over to Steven and sat beside him on the bed. Mokuba wrapped one arm around him and pulled him over to his side.

"I know he did Steven… but that's no reason to be afraid… he'd never ever hurt you." Mokuba winced at his own words. Seto had always promised to protect Mokuba, and promised multiple times in the past how he would never lay a finger on Mokuba, and yet, here he sat today, a big bruise developing on his cheek to prove it.

"But, he's your big brother…"

"I know he is, and that's why I understand why he hit me. Seto is… just under a lot of stress… from this whole trip. And with the police after him… well, wouldn't you be scared?" Steven looked up into his face.

"But… I thought Otousan never got scared…" Mokuba, as a child, had once thought that too.

"Yes… but fear is part of every human being's life. Everyone gets scared once in a while. Heck, I get scared sometimes too." Steven's eyes widened.

"Really Mokuba?" Mokuba nodded. Steven thought about this concept for a long time, mentally scanning through all the people he knew and realizing that they have all been fearful of something. His thinking stopped.

"What about my mother?" Steven said, "Does… my mother get scared?" Mokuba remembered the fear and the shock Serenity felt when she first discovered she was pregnant, and how her first and much preferred choice had always been abortion from the very beginning. That was the thing about fear, everyone feels it, but there are only two ways of getting through it. Dealing with the fear head on, or simply running away from it.

"Yes… she's been scared before." Steven pondered his thoughts for a couple seconds more before getting off the bed and standing up.

"I guess I can forgive Otousan for what he did… but only if you forgive him too, Mokuba," Steven turned towards him, "Do you?" Mokuba said nothing, but nodded. He couldn't bring himself to even saying the words. He still had a lot of things to deal with after everything that had happened that day. Mokuba just needed to pull through it all for Steven.

"Otousan won't need to be scared… at least not while we're around to look out for him," Steven exclaimed proudly. Mokuba smiled and patted him on the head.

"That's right. We'll always look out for Seto, just as Seto looks out for you."

"But Mokuba, what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who's going to look after you?" Mokuba shrugged.

"I don't know, but that's okay, because I'm 18 and I can look out for myself." And it was true; Mokuba wasn't the little kid in the family anymore. He was seven years older and seven years wiser. Because of this, Mokuba felt no shame.

* * *

Mokuba, Seto, and Steven were staring at the vehicle before them. It was the same 'death trap' they had seen last night, only now it looked as though it had training wheels. In reality, it was another place where a passenger could sit in that was attached to the side of the motorcycle.

"It took me a while, but it's finally done. What do you think?" Tristan asked with pride. Mokuba didn't know about the others, but he just found this slightly embarrassing. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be seen in it, but it was the only way all three of them could ride together on one motorcycle.

"I feel like I've seen this from another anime…"

"Another what?"

"Nothing." Seto stepped forward, circling around the motorcycle, observing it with judgmental eyes.

"There's still a very high possibility that we'll die if anything should go wrong on the road, but I suppose it'll have to do," Seto said quite plainly. All three of them picked up the helmets that was sitting on the motorcycle and clipped them on.

"Aw! Now you all look like a bunch of little bikers!" Seto rolled his eyes.

"So who's going to sit where?" Mokuba asked, to him this was the more important of the questions since he didn't want to get stuck sitting in the attached seat part that made it look like a tricycle.

"I'll be driving, of course, Steven will sit in front of me, and you'll sit in the attached seat." Mokuba moaned with annoyance.

"Come ON Seto! That is SO lame!"

"I told you that you could stay if you wanted," Seto said, lifting Steven onto the front of the motorcycle.

"FINE! I'll ride in the stupid little seat…" Mokuba got in and clicked his seat belt on. Seto swung his legs around and sat on the motorcycle. He was hoping that he still remembered how to drive one of these; it had been years since he had been on a motorcycle or any kind of bike for that matter. Seto put in the key and revved up the engine.

"I guess I'll see you around sometime, huh Kaiba?" Tristan yelled over the engine.

"I guess so," Seto yelled in reply, "When I'm not broke, I'll pay you back for all your help."

"If you really want to, but it's really up to you! The truth is, even though you're a total jerk, I've always sort of wanted to be your friend!" Seto hit his forehead.

"Why does everyone in this show want to be my friend?!"

"What show??"

"Nothing! I'm sure, under some other odd circumstances, we'll meet again Taylor! Thanks again!" And with that, Seto sped off and down the road, his engine roaring into the distance until he was completely out of site. Tristan stood motionless, watching the scene play out in his mind. He had helped a good man today; Tristan somehow knew Seto had to be innocent. Tristan knew that Seto was right; it wouldn't be their last encounter. He just hoped, for Steven's sake, that they really find what they're looking for in Tokyo.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, that's a wrap guys. If you can believe it, but this is the end. It's been a great run and all, but you'll just have to… oh I am totally messing with you. How could anyone end a story on such a touching note? I mean, dude, Tristan and Seto being friends!(as if that would ever happen) Anyhow, so I should really be doing homework or studying for the SATs but really, I like this much better. I feel very indifferent about this chapter, not sure if it's good or bad. I felt as though it was a bit… random, possibly. I wasn't planning on having that one incident between Seto and Mokuba happened, it just sort of played out that way as I was writing. Anyways, I better get back to doing school work. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I know I did. Have a nice day!_

_P.S: I'm not sure which anime it was that had a motorcycle with a little carrier/seat thing attached to the side(I'm so cool, I don't even know what those are called) I think it was in Kiki's Delivery Service though. But I maybe mistaken. Maybe you guys know what the heck I'm talking about! Bye!_

_I believe this is the longest chapter I have ever written. You all should be very happy. HAPPY! :p_


	13. Chapter 13

Ladyguadalupe: Thanks for the review!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review!

AmePiper: Take all the time you need to reply to the PM. I'm sorry, but I have to make this quick. I'll be sure to give you a better response next chapter!

AlienDemon: Thanks Becky the Sexy! I love you!(sorry for short response, but enjoy the chapter! I think you'll enjoy it thoroughly:)

Chapter 13

"_My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune."_-Gracie Harmon

They had been traveling for many hours now. The loud roar of the engine no longer seemed to bother them, as well as the winds that pulled their clothes right up against their skin and put pressure on their chests. By this time, the sun was high up in the sky, signaling that it was only early afternoon. Seto turned his head to the side, making to keep one eye on the road.

"Hey Mokuba! How you doing over there?" Seto called over to Mokuba. Mokuba sat, with a bored face, slumped in the seat.

"Tired! And hungry! When are going to get to Numazu?"

"We're getting pretty close to it right now! It's a good thing too, considering we're low on gas!"

"How the heck are we going to get to Tokyo if we have no gas and no money?"

"Not sure! We'll figure it out when we stop!" Mokuba shrugged. This was going to be another one of those annoying inconveniences that no one wanted to deal with. Maybe this time they'd run into another one of Seto's high school "buddies," but this guy would have lots of money and would be just as stuck up at Seto. Mokuba chuckled at the thought there wasn't anyone quite like his brother.

Seto looked ahead, a smile grew on his face. Finally, he made the turn off into Numazu. The city was buzzing with life and people. Seto stopped at a red light and looked around. This place looked a lot more upbeat than Shizuoku was. Maybe this time they wouldn't run into any sort of trouble.

After a couple minutes of roaming, Seto knew he couldn't ride any longer; he was way too low on gas. Seto pulled over on a random street and stopped. For a moment he sat there, letting himself get a breather and take in the stillness of the world. The motorcycle was cool at first, but it could grow very tiring after long hours.

Seto looked down in front of him and found Steven asleep, pushed up against his chest. Seto smiled, and gently shook Steven awake. "Hey Steven, it's time to wake up… we've stopped now…" Steven's eyes slowly flickered open, looking around at the city.

"Are we in Tokyo?"

"No, not yet. But we're getting very close…" Seto reassured.

"Yep, now all we have to do is figure out how we're going to get our next tank of gas," Mokuba stated, throwing off his helmet and jumping out of the motorcycle seat. He stretched his arms and legs, man, was that a long ride. Mokuba moved his arms and legs, letting his body stretch and crack all it needed to.

"We're out of gas Otousan?" Steven asked after Seto set him down onto the sidewalk.

"I'm afraid so, Steven." Steven sank to the ground and lay there for a moment. Seto grabbed him by the arms and lifted him back up, "Are you alright, Steven?" Seeto asked, worry in his voice. Steven looked up with a clueless face.

"I can't feel my legs… they feel like jello." Seto sighed and lifted Steven back into his arms.

"It's okay, I think your legs just need to get the blood flowing through them again. I'll hold you in the mean time."

"Meanwhile, we can figure out a way to make some fast money." Seto glared at him.

"Don't say it like that, you'll make us sound like criminals."

"Not anymore than the news is making us look." Mokuba pointed to a television that was showing the news across the street. Seto's face was in every shot, as well as police officers, and employees from Kaiba Corp.

"We should probably get moving fast." Mokuba nodded and followed Seto's lead. They walked though the sidewalks, being cautious as to where they went, and made sure to not go near any electronics stores that might have more TVs. Seto was baffled by how fast the news had spread. Was there some kind of evidence that linked him to this so-called murder? There must be, considering it's all over the news still, but what kind of evidence? And who had been 'murdered' at the hands of Seto Kaiba? Seto hadn't committed any kind of crime!

"Hey Seto! Over here!" Mokuba called. Seto looked over and saw Mokuba pointing at some kind of bar across the street from him. Seto shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm not going into another bar again! Mokuba, weren't you around when I got pummeled in the face by a bunch of drunken guys? I don't think we can find another Yugi follower to save me in this city…"

"No, it's not just that. Look! They're holding some kind of contest! Let's go look." Mokuba dashed across the street and over to the bar. In a much more safe manner, Seto used the cross walk and headed towards him. Mokuba's eyes were fixed on a poster that was taped to the window. It was some kind of flier for a karaoke contest.

"It's a karaoke contest; whoever sings the best or is the most entertaining wins. The winner is decided by the audience and how much they like you. The prize is a thousand yen."

"Oh, how delightful. That is a brilliant idea Mokuba! Except that the date for contestants to try out is over." Seto pointed to the date on the flier. "Sorry, looks like we'll have to find another way." Seto was about to turn and walk down the opposite way of the sidewalk when a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Hold on! Are you guys interested in singing for this bar?" Both of them turned around. A short, brunette with big green eyes, looked at them with hope and curiosity. Seto had his mouth already open to refuse, but Mokuba's eyes had already found this girl pleasing.

"Yeah… we are… can we still try out to sing?" Mokuba said, running back over to her.

"It's your lucky day! See, the other guy that was supposed to sing bailed on us on the last minute, and we're desperate to find any sort of replacement. If you guys are up for it, I could put you in the show."

"Oh no you don't, not us. We're not interested," Seto said, not thrown off by this girl's seemingly pleasing appearance. If he could survive Daiana, he could certainly survive this little twerp. Mokuba felt differently, though. His heart felt as though it skipped every other beat, and his hands became very sweaty. He couldn't refuse this girl; he had to sing in that contest! It was no longer about the money, but not about proving his love for this beautiful stranger.

"Yes we are! We are interested!"

"What?!"

"Where do we sign??" Seto grabbed Mokuba by the shirt and dragged him back over to himself. He looked down at him.

"Mokuba, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Getting us money!"

"Mokuba, I am not going to sing to a bunch of drunkards in a lousy bar! We don't have to sink to this level just for some gas money."

"Yes we do!" Mokuba begged, he already knew his older brother wouldn't be able to possibly understand how utterly important this was to him. Seto raised one eyebrow.

"What's gotten into you? Usually you're a lot more sensible."

"Nothing Seto! I just want this gas money BADLY." The girl was still standing a couple feet away, staring at them. "Look Seto, what difference will it make? We'll go in there, sing, get our money, and go! Don't you want to go to Tokyo?!"

"Well, yes, but…"

"If you need some persuading, I can sure help…" the girl said, popping up from out of nowhere and leaning right up against Seto. Her big green eyes, suddenly getting larger with a hint of lust that lay deep within. Seto did not fall victim to this lustful eye, however, and Steven was only frightened by it. "It would mean the WORLD to me if you just helped me out and took our missing guy's place… I'd do ANYTHING…" She said, more hints and very strong signs of flirting.

Seto was not amused. "Sorry kiddo, I'm asexual and far too old for you." Mokuba shoved Seto the side and now stood in front of the girl.

"I'm not asexual! In fact, I'm quite heterosexual, if you know what I mean," Mokuba winked at the girl. She giggled in response.

"That's good to hear, so are you in?"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Mokuba!"

"One moment…" Mokuba slunk over to Seto, "Look Seto, it'll turn out fine! You don't have to do anything; I'll sing the whole thing. You and Steven can just watch from the audience while I win us some money."

"Oh, that sounds like a real dandy idea Mokuba!" Seto said with a fake enthusiastic voice, "There's only one problem, can you even sing?"

"Not to save my life, but I am pretty damn entertaining when I want to be!" Mokuba darted off to the girl once more. "Sign me up, I'll sing for your contest!"

"Great!" The girl exclaimed, pulling him in for a warm juicy kiss on the lips. Mokuba felt as though he could die. Seto and Steven stood off to the side, watching in disgust.

"Ew…" They both said in unison. They looked at one another, as if surprised. Then they chuckled and followed Mokuba and the random mysteriously attractive girl into the karaoke bar.

"See you guys! I'll try and find you when I'm on stage!" Mokuba called before disappearing into the crowds of people.

"Mokuba! Wait!" Seto called after him.

"Don't worry, he'll be great! I know it!" The girl said, randomly popping back up again from out of nowhere. Seto narrowed his eyes on her.

"I'm watching you, missy. You can flirt and kiss all you want, but just remember I'll be watching you…" And just like that, she was gone. Steven looked up at Seto.

"That lady is REALLY weird Otousan, when can we get out of here?" Seto shifted Steven into a better position; he was still in a curled position in Seto's arms. Seto looked around, trying to find a safe place to stand. Luckily he found one right next to the stage.

"Don't worry Steven, we'll be out of here right after Mokuba makes a complete idiot of himself in front of a bunch of drunken people." If Mokuba won this thing, Seto knew he would be very surprised, possibly even appreciative. Seto's only concern was that Mokuba wasn't going to do anything TOO crazy on stage simply for the attention and approval of some random girl he just met and fancied.

The contest began with a random guy whom was too skinny and too ugly to really want to loom at, but he seemed to have a voice of the angels in heaven. Seto was slightly shocked that a puny guy like that could hit such high notes. The next contestant was some seemingly angry fellow, whom screamed to a random screamo/metal head song. Seto and Steven had their hands over their ears and prayed that it would be over soon. Next, there was a woman, whom looked a lot older than any of the people in the bar itself, and tried singing an emotional and gripping song, with an old raspy voice. She didn't get much of applause after her performance.

The contest continued with a whole variety of people singing, dancing, and just plain entertaining the crowd. Seto had to hand it to them; they knew how to pick out their contestants. But this only made Seto wonder what Mokuba's performance would be like, he had never imagined Mokuba ever singing, or dancing for that matter. He was hoping this wasn't going to be too embarrassing, hopefully no one would know he was Seto's younger brother after this.

Finally, after much anticipation and many songs and dances, Mokuba's name was called out. To Seto's dismay, they called out his last name as well, but no one seemed to notice it was the same last name as Seto's. Seto guessed that now the only thing left to worry about was whether Mokuba would win a lot, and by the way he was looking at that girl only a few moments ago, he knew that Mokuba would want it badly enough.

"I can't wait to see Mokuba perform!" Steven said with glee.

"Yeah? You think he's gonna win?"

"Of course he's going to win, he's a Kaiba!" Seto laughed, Steven was beginning to sound more like him every day. Then he stopped. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Seto didn't have much time to think about it, considering the whole crowd started applauding as Mokuba stepped onto the stage. He looked around at his audience, really handling himself as if he had been born and raised on a stage all his life. Then his eyes fell on the person whom was manning the controls. Mokuba gave him a point and nodded, signaling him to start the karaoke music.

The music started up very slowly and quietly as Mokuba brought the microphone to his lips, "I still feel your touch when you sleep next to me… I still hear your voice in my dreams…" Seto was baffled, out of all the songs he could've chosen to sing; he chose this of all things? "Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why… without you it's hard to survive…" the music stopped for a moment. And then all at once the blast of a catchy techno beat blasted through the audience. The beat wasn't the only thing that caught the audience's attention though.

"'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling. And everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly." Mokuba started bouncing up and down, arms flailing left and right, "Can't you feel my beat fast? I want this to last! Need you by my side." Mokuba, despite other things, looked as though he were attempting to dance. "'Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static. And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky. Can't you hear my heart beat so? I can't let you go! Want you in my life." Although Seto was completely and utterly mortified by this, it was clear that the crowd loved it as they began bouncing to the beat.

The back round music played for a while, giving Mokuba the perfect opportunity to make more of an idiot of himself. Seto wanted to cover his eyes in embarrassment, but couldn't seem to find the strength too. Steven smiled in delight, bounded up and down in Seto's arms. Mokuba's hair was flying through the air, as he was doing a mixture of head banging and some sort of free style dancing.

The music began to slow a bit again as it did in the beginning, the whole room was bouncing with anticipated energy. Mokuba had stopped dancing at this point and became calm once again. "Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky… they wipe away tears that I cry…" The beat came back, and Mokuba's energy did too. "The good and the bad times, we've been through them all. You make me rise when I fall…" More cheering, and more dancing.

"'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling. And everytime we kiss, I swear I can fly. Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last! Need you by my side." Mokuba started bouncing up and down again, the arms had returned to their random flailing and shifting through the air, "Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static. And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky. Can't you hear my heart beat so… I can't let you go! Want you in my life." And then, it stopped. Mokuba had somehow twirled to a stop and bowed for the audience. The crowd screamed and cheered for delight. Seto, although slightly confused as to how Mokuba's incredibly embarrassing and unskillful act, cheered a bit as well. Even if he had made a complete fool of himself, Seto knew he wouldn't have the guts to do anything quite like that. Maybe that was something he needed to learn from his younger brother.

* * *

**A/N:** _WHO WILL WIN THE KARAOKE CONTEST?! STAY TUNED FOR OUR NEXT CHAPTER TO FIND OUT. I know, pretty exciting, huh? I bet you guys weren't expecting that from Chapter 13! Oh, and by the way, here's a little disclaimer; I don't own this song, or it's lyrics, or it's amazing beat. Cascada does, and thank goodness for her, she knows how to rock out in a library. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a dear friend named Rena Redhead; whom I know is a big fan of Miss Cascada. See you next time!_

_P.S: Sorry for the lame review responses, I had to finish this chapter up in a hurry. Next chapter I'll be better._


	14. Chapter 14

AlienDemon: I love it when you read chapters before other chapters, you're so awesome! Hahaha, seriously, though, you're really awesome at, like, life. I mean, you're so good at art and writing and everything and beauty and awesomeness, I don't think this story would be as good without you babe. I mean, seriously. Thanks for the review!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review!

Ladyguadalupe: I'm glad it made you laugh; its all smiles with this story! Yay! Thanks for the review!

AmePiper: I love Cacada too. She's pretty good to dance to. It's like how my stage name is Kari! Yeah… cept it's an internet name. And I'm not a singer. Or a dancer. I don't really do anything except write. But whatever! Mark Twain had a writer's name and so can I! I was actually going to have him sing "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations originally, but thought this would be WAY funnier. And please, do not even worry about getting to my PM. Believe me, I've also got a lot going on. Thanks for the review!

Chapter 14

"_A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."_-Agatha Christie

The judging didn't take long, probably because it was obvious as to whom the audience liked the most. "And the winner is…" one of the DJ's began, the crowd began chanting Mokuba's name over and over again. "Mokuba Kaiba!" The audience exploded with delight and happiness, there was still a group that was chanting his name. Steven cheered and clapped as well, and Seto even gained enough courage to yell out once or twice. He was proud of his younger brother, he really was.

When the audience and crowds of people finally exited the bar, Mokuba finally stepped outside and walked over to Seto and Steven. He smiled and held out his hand, which contained a huge wad of cash. Seto took it up and grinned. "This'll definitely be enough to get us to Tokyo." Mokuba nodded.

"But wait… what happened to that girl that you went all googol eyed for?" Steven asked. Now Mokuba was the one that was grinning.

"Yeah… we made out some, and then one thing led to another and-" Seto smacked Mokuba upside the head. "OW! What the heck was that for?!"

"You're talking to my 7 year old son! Do you mind??" Mokuba growled but remained quiet.

"Fine…" Mokuba turned back to Steven, "We hugged and said goodbye. That was it." Steven eyed him.

"Why do I get the feeling that wasn't what happened?"

"Can't we go back to everyone praising me because I got us money?" Seto placed his hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"You're right… we should be a bit more… thankful," Seto sighed, "It took a lot of guts to do what you did. A LOT of guts." Seto, Mokuba, and Steven started walking along the sidewalk to the parking lot where the motorcycle was.

"Well, I don't know about that. I mean it was pretty easy to do it considering I can't dance or sing."

"In my books, to do something like that, it's big," Seto looked up at the sky, "I would've never been able to do that. I suppose it shows who's the bigger man out of us two."

"Oh… come on Seto…"

"No, really… I've been acting like such a child lately… and you've been so helpful, and I haven't given you any credit for that…" Seto paused for a moment, "I'm sorry for how I've been acting. We probably wouldn't have gotten this far if we had left you in Shizuoku."

"It's okay Seto, we're a family, remember?" After a few more moments, they reached the parking lot, but stopped when they noticed Seto wasn't with them anymore. "Seto?" Mokuba turned back and saw that Seto was standing still, frozen, as he stared across the street at the television store that they had originally run away from. Without looking both ways, he crossed the street and entered the store.

Mokuba and Steven looked at each other, before running across the street and into the store after him. They looked up to see what Seto was looking at. They were surprised to find Isono's face plastered on the TV set.

"Police have just released the name of the murder victim that investigators believe was killed by Seto Kaiba. He goes by the name of Isono, and records say he's been working for Seto Kaiba ever since Kaiba became CEO of Kaiba Corp…"

"They killed Isono?" Mokuba was absolutely shocked. Why would they want to kill Isono of all people? Isono was the only man close enough to Seto that anyone could call Seto's friend. It was clear that someone was trying to frame Seto, but by killing Isono, this meant that this was no random guy trying to do this. This was someone they must've known.

Steven looked up at his father as Seto was wincing with emotional pain. "Otousan…?" Steven had never seen his father so distraught in his life. Seto bit his lip and held back, this was no time for showing weakness. Someone was trying to mess with his life, and they were going to pay for it.

"Come on, let's go." Seto barked. Mokuba and Steven quietly obliged and followed him out of the store and back over to the parking lot. Seto didn't say anything for the next hour or so as they road through Numazu, taking the main road through the city to get to Tokyo.

After another hour or so, Mokuba heard the engine of another motorcycle from behind them that appeared to have been following them. Mokuba turned to Seto. "Seto! I think someone's following us!" Seto said nothing, only focusing on the road. Mokuba turned his head back again, coming from another side street, another biker appeared riding beside Seto, the one that had been following from behind drove up to the other side of Seto.

"What do these people want?" Seto asked with annoyance, looking at the two men who appeared to be trying to intimidate him. The one that was riding beside Seto on Mokuba's side rammed into him and Mokuba yelled in fright.

"Seto!" The other man rammed his bike into Seto's. Seto tried his best to keep in control of his bike, but found it hard with these people ramming into him. He turned sharply onto another road that took him onto a bridge. Seto looked back, grinning with pride with the fact that he had lost them. "WATCH OUT!" Another motorcycle came out of nowhere and drove right in front of them. With a forceful twist of the steering, Seto skidded to a stop.

Mokuba looked around, the other two bikers they had lost came up from a hidden road. Seto looked around, observing the men and trying to figure out his options. The men all got off their bikes and threw off their helmets. "Looks like your ride has come to a stop… Seto Kaiba…" Seto took off his helmet and got off the motorcycle as well, Mokuba and Steven did the same.

"What do you people want with me?"

"There's a big price on your head, Kaiba, and we need that money." Seto stood in a fighting stance, scanning the men and determining that he could take out all three. One of the men took out a gun and pointed it in Seto's direction. The site of the gun changed the whole battlefield. Seto stepped in front of Steven and Mokuba.

"That's unfair, I'm unarmed."

"No one said we were going to be fair."

"Otousan!" The biggest man of the three charged at Seto and tackled him to the ground. Seto struggled, but his strength wasn't nearly enough to break free of the man's grip. His hands were shoved behind his back and the man forced Seto to his feet. The other man with the gun grinned at the worry that took over Seto's face.

"Please… if you're going to take me, don't hurt my brother or son. They have nothing to do with this…" The man turned to Mokuba and Steven. Mokuba had his fists in the air as though he were ready to face off against them all, Steven hiding behind Mokuba in fear.

"I think we'll need to do away with them, just so we know that you will cooperate with us and our plans." Seto's eyes widened, he tried jumping forward and struggled to break out.

"NO! Leave them alone! Don't you dare touch them!" The man with the gun signaled his partner to go after them. He grinned, his hand reaching into his pocket and revealing a gun of his own. "NO!" Seto turned to Mokuba and Steven, "RUN!"

"But Seto!"

"NOW!" Mokuba grabbed a hold of Steven's hand and took off down an ally.

"After them!" The leader order, his partner sprinted down the alleyway at a much greater speed than Mokuba. Seto pushed and shoved to get out, this couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose them. Not after all this. There was a scream heard in the distance, one of a small child. Then there was a gunshot. Another one followed. Silence.

"No…" The leader laughed watching as realization took over Seto and caused him to shake and hyperventilate. "They can't be…" But there was no sign of life, there was nothing, Seto was alone.

"How does it feel, Seto Kaiba?" Seto stood there, no longer struggling, barely able to stand on his own two feet. The leader signaled the man holding Seto to release him. He did as he was order and Seto fell to his knees. It was all over. He was done. How could he have let this happen?

The leader took up his gun and tossed it over to Seto. It skidded across the ground in front of him. "Why don't you do us all a favor and finish the job?" He spat, his voice beaming with satisfaction. Seto stared at the gun blankly. He had no reason to live. Steven and Mokuba were the only thing that kept Seto alive, the only reason he ever wanted to be alive. They both had given him so much and now they were gone. Seto's hand gripped the gun and brought it up.

* * *

"After them!" Mokuba ran as fast as he possibly could down that alleyway, but he could hear the loud footsteps of the man coming after them. He would have to stop and fight him. Mokuba knew he was half the man's size, but he had to do something. Mokuba stopped and pushed Steven behind him. The man drew up his gun and pointed towards him.

"You're first!" the man yelled, running as he aimed. He pulled the trigger just as he approached Mokuba, but Mokuba punched his hand up and sent the bullet into the air. The gun flew out of the man's hand and fell onto the ground only a couple feet away. When it hit the ground, the gun went off once more. Steven was on the ground now, scared out of his mind. "You little-!"

Mokuba punched him right in the face and knocked him to the ground. The man tipped over like a statue and crashed with a thug. Mokuba smiled with excitement. "Wow! I actually got him!" The man wasn't down for long though, he bent forward to get up, but Mokuba took this opportunity to sprint forward and continue to the beat the crap out of him. Mokuba elbowed him in the head and caused him to slip into unconsciousness.

Mokuba waited a moment, staring in fear at the man to see if he was really knocked out or not. When he didn't wake up, Mokuba jumped with excitement. "I did it? I did it! YES! I kicked someone's ass!" Steven interrupted Mokuba's victory dance with a tug on his shirt.

"We have to get back to Otousan!"

"Oh no… your right! Come on!" Mokuba and Steven sprinted back down the way they came, but stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the scene that was being played out in front of them.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and finish the job?" The man stood, watching Seto as he picked up the gun that was thrown over to him. There was a grin on his face. Seto held the gun in his hands for a moment, looking at it with empty eyes. Mokuba and Steven's hearts stopped when they saw Seto lift the gun and bring it up to his head.

They had to do something. Seto was going to kill himself. He was going to kill himself! Steven heart was racing, so many things were going through hi mind but he knew he had to stop Seto at all costs. His whole body was frozen and not working. Steven needed to yell, to get his attention. To show him he was okay.

Steven's heart was racing so fast he found it hard to even breathe. He had to do something! Seto was going to kill himself. Steven wanted so terribly to call him over, but his body was too struck by fear to do anything. Mokuba found that he was in a similar state as Steven. Both were too shocked and scared to say anything. Seto's finger was on the trigger. Mokuba forced himself to try and speak.

"Se-Set…Set-Set…" All eyes were on Seto's finger. He was going to pull. Steven's heart stopped. "NII-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Mokuba screamed with all his might, keeping the name at a steady and loud note. The gun was dropped and Seto's eyes fell on both Steven and Mokuba. They were okay! There were alive!

"What the-?" Seto lunged himself forward at the man whom had handed him the gun, proceeding to beat him to a pulp. His partner tried to stop Seto, but Seto had so much rage and energy, he couldn't be stopped. Both men were on the ground only after a few seconds of Seto's angry fist fury. Seto needed to stop he was going to kill them if he didn't. Mokuba and Steven ran over to his side.

"Stop Otousan! Stop!" Steven cried. Seto, at the sound of Steven's voice, took back his fists and stepped away from the two men lying in front of him. "Otousan, are you…" Seto didn't give him enough time to talk; he pulled both him and Mokuba into a very tight hug and held them close.

"Oh God… I thought I had lost you…" Seto said, his body shaking from both joy and fear. He had almost lost them; he had almost killed himself as a result. Steven could've lost his father, and Mokuba, a brother. "I-I'm so… I'm so sorry… I…" Steven squeezed him back, wrapping his arms around Seto's neck.

"It's okay Otousan! We were all scared… I'm sorry too… I… I couldn't say anything! I was so scared of losing you…" Steven turned to Mokuba, "Mokuba was the only one who had the strength to catch your attention. Seto broke the hug and looked at Mokuba from a distance. He saw the younger brother he had known all his life, the one he had sworn to protect.

"Mokuba… you haven't called me Nii-sama in years… how did you find the strength to call out to me?" Mokuba thought for a moment, he had never felt the urge to call his brother that after all that had happened. Nii-sama was the name for a hero, for a protector. For someone he used to look up to. How could that name come up at a time like this? Mokuba shrugged, not sure what to say.

"I don't know… I guess…" Mokuba breathed, "I guess… it's because it was the only thing familiar to me to say in that kind of situation. Because… whenever I was in trouble… it was my Nii-sama that came and rescued me. Well… I was in trouble, but someone else needed rescuing." Seto smiled and pulled Mokuba in for one last hug.

"I love you Mokuba…"

"I love you too… Nii-sama…" Mokuba tenderly returned the hug, a smile on his face and a thorn out of his heart. But the happy moment was soon replaced by the sounding of angry sirens as the police surrounded the area. Policemen from all side jumped out of their cars and took up their guns in Seto's direction.

"Put you hands behind your head! Now!" Seto, Steven, and Mokuba stood up quickly and put their hands behind their head. "Don't move! You have the right to remain silent!" Three policemen moved in and cuffed all three of the Kaibas. "You're coming downtown with us." Seto, Mokuba, and Steven all looked at one another in fear as the policemen lead them to one of theirs cars and shoved them in. There was nowhere to run now.

* * *

**A/N:** _I am done! Okay, so I want to say sorry for all the "the man" stuff. I mean, I didn't feel like giving either of the bad guys names so yeah, I'm sorry if that got annoying after a while. I kind of felt like I rushed through this chapter, but hey, I'm sure you guys are all still in suspense because of the great cliffhanger I left. I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be coming up soon. Just stay tuned and keep on reading!_


	15. Chapter 15

AmePiper: Gosh, I'm glad you liked it! I really felt like I threw that whole thing together in the last minute, but oh well. I always think harshly of my chapters. Well, the plot still might be unknown, but what I can say is; well, I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to let you read. Thanks for the review!

Journey maker: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Ladyguadalupe: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

I just wanted to make a note about the quote I put in this chapter because I think it's very powerful, and very real. My stepfather, when I lived with him, had this quote on a note card, which he taped to his mirror in the bathroom. Every time I ever wandered into his bathroom, there it was, taped to the mirror. The quote had always interest me, and yet, confused me at the same time.

Now I understand.

Chapter 15

"_Mother, I blame you for nothing and forgive you for everything."_-Mary J. Blige

"Mr. Kaiba, your son needs to come with us!"

"You are not taking my child!" Seto yelled; Steven was held safely in his arms and away from the two police officers that were trying to reach him. They looked at one another and back at Seto.

"Look Mr. Kaiba, we're not going to hurt him. He needs to go with child services while we interrogate you."

"Interrogate me all you want! But my son stays, I'm not letting any of you near him!" One of the police officers reached towards him, but Seto dodged him. He was determined; no one was taking his son. Not after he had almost lost him. Seto couldn't let something like that ever happen again.

"Otousan…" Steven said in a quiet voice, "Maybe I should go with them…"

"What?!"

"Otousan! I don't want you getting into trouble again!"

"Why don't you listen to your boy? Can't you see he's trying to help?" Seto glared at him.

"You stay out of this," Seto's eyes reverted back to Steven's face, "Steven… you know your father doesn't want to get into any kind of trouble, but he also doesn't want to risked losing you. No… not after what just happened. I don't even know what I'd do… if…" Seto couldn't even imagine what would happen if Steven were actually dead. It was a miracle Mokuba had called him back to his senses, or else Steven would not only be motherless, but fatherless as well.

"Otousan… I'll be okay…"

"Are… are you sure Steven?" Steven nodded. Seto, taking a deep breath, extended his shaking arms out to the police officer with his child in hand. His heart was throbbing from worry, but he would have to hold back. Just this once, but after this he was never letting Steven leave his side ever again. Seto watched as the police officer carried Steven down the hallway and disappeared right in front of his eyes.

"Shall we start the interrogation process, Mr. Kaiba?" The remained officer asked. Seto gave him a nasty look.

"Whatever will get my son back to me sooner."

"Right this way." The police officer led Seto down a seemingly endless hallway until they turned into a windowless room. "Take a seat," he said in a calm voice. Seto sat down without looking the officer in the face. "So… what exactly were you and Mr. Tazuki talking about?" Seto looked up.

"Who?"

"The man you beat to a pulp."

"Oh, the man who was trying to kill me?"

"Your prints were on that gun."

"As well as his! He was trying to kill me, he sent another man to kill my son and my brother!"

"Then why were your finger prints on the gun??"

"Because…" Seto looked down in shame, "I heard two gun shots after his partner and my brother and son ran down a nearby alleyway." Seto brought his hands up to his face. "I thought they were dead… I… I couldn't be able to live without them. They're the only family I have left and they're the only things I live for."

"Cute story… how do we know you're not lying?" Seto's head shot up.

"What? You think I'm lying??"

"Well, we do find ourselves with a lot of cases where-"

"Why would I ever lie about almost killing myself? Who in their right mind would actually do that?!" Before the officer could respond there was a knock on the door. He looked annoyingly in it direction as he twisted the knob and opened the door. Seto stood to his feet, a smile on his face, when he spotted Mokuba run in.

"Nii-sama!"

"Mokuba!" Mokuba ran over and embraced him with open arms, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be getting interrogated?"

"Well, I was getting interrogated by the chief of the police force, until I discovered who that was…" Seto eyed him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hi Kaiba." For Seto, this was like a continuously bad dream gets much, much worse. A seemingly short man, with obnoxious huge hair, dyed in all kinds of assorted colors, walked into the room fully dressed in uniform. A shining golden badge was pinned proudly to his right shirt pocket.

"Yugi Motou… You have… to be kidding me."

"Yugi says he'll help us!"

"Mokuba! What did I tell you about going around and asking Yugi for help?"

"Nii-sama, that was YEARS ago, besides, I felt this was too important to pass up." Seto eyed Yugi from across the room. He did not like this one bit. Seto was meeting with his archrival for the first time in seven years in the worst of circumstances.

"Mokuba told me you were looking for something…"

"Actually, it was someone, and we don't need your help to do it." Mokuba elbowed Seto in the side. "What? We don't need him to find Serenity!"

"Serenity? You mean, Joey's sister?"

"Yeah… why?"

"My wife is Serenity's best friend."

"Your wife?"

"Tea?" Seto covered his mouth as though he were about to barf. Yugi frowned at him in annoyance.

"Kaiba!"

"I'm sorry that's just… wow."

"Look, do you want help or not?"

"Do you seriously know where she lives?"

"Yes. And I can get you out of here and prove your innocence considering I'm the chief of this place. But you have to tell me the truth, did you kill Isono?" Seto looked him straight in the eye with determination on his face. This had to be the defining moment where Seto would either win or lose.

"I didn't kill Isono, and I have never even dreamed of killing him. Isono was a good friend of mine, and promise to avenge his death once I fulfill my promise to my son." Yugi smiled happily.

"I believe you Kaiba. You've never been one to kill anyway. I'll get you right out of here and on the road to Serenity's house in no time." That's when Seto experienced his realization. This was it. After all they're searching and traveling, the once seemingly impossible dream was now going to finally become a reality. Steven was actually going to meet his real mother. Seto placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"I hate you less now then I ever have in my whole entire life." Yugi stared at him, not exactly sure how to respond. That's when Mokuba stepped in.

"It's a compliment, don't worry."

* * *

Steven stood completely still, standing in front of the house that had the address written on the piece of paper crumbled up in his hand. This was… it. Everything he had been waiting for, his main mission and his life mystery. Steven was going to meet his mother, he was going to finally meet the woman he had never known but always dreamed of.

Steven tried to contain himself as he walked up the steps of Serenity's house and reached the top step in front of the door. Seto and Mokuba were standing only a step behind him. Steven's hand reached out to knock on the door when Seto placed his hand on Steven's head.

"Wait… Steven… maybe we should wait…"

"Wait for what, Otousan?"

"I don't know… another day?"

"No… I have to go this today." Steven reached out once again to the door, but was stopped again by his father's hand.

"What if it's not what you thought it to be?" Seto questioned, these weren't exactly the most optimistic of questions, but Seto couldn't help the feeling of his gut getting twisted up. After seven whole years, it was all going to be over. Steven was going to discover the truth, and Seto would be forever seen as a liar and a bad father. Seto knew this was going to be the most painful experience ever.

"I don't care…" Steven said plainly. He had always imagined this moment in his head so, so many times. But there had always been something that told him that it wouldn't exactly turn out the way he had always dreamed. Steven wanted it so terribly to turn out that way, and hoped it would, but his gut told him something terrible was about to be thrown into the open.

Steven knocked on the door. Now the only thing left to do was wait and see. Mokuba turned his head for a moment and took a step back. He couldn't watch this, he simply couldn't watch everything that was going to happen.

The door creaked open and Serenity stood in the doorway with a pitcher of water in hand. Serenity looked a lot more mature and her hair was a lot shorter as well, she definitely had the famous actress look to her. There was a smile on her face. "Hello?" She said cheerfully. Then her eyes spotted Seto, then moved to Mokuba, and finally fell on Steven. The moment her eyes did, the pitcher fell immediately from her hands and dispersed across the floor at her feet. Steven's eyes never left his mother's horrified face.

"You're my mother…"

"…You… You're… Oh god… Steven…?" Serenity covered her mouth in shock. Steven nodded slowly. Seto and Mokuba couldn't do anything, nor say anything. Their hearts had stopped the moment she had opened the door. Steven was fighting his own battle now. "What… what are you doing here…?" Serenity didn't know whether to look at him or Seto. She was so confused, scared, and frustrated all at the same time.

"I came here-We came here, all the way from Domino City… to find you. I needed to see you… and meet you… I wanted to find out why you… got lost."

"Lost?"

"That's the story I was told." Serenity's angry eyes were now glaring down at Seto. Seto looked down at the ground in shame. How could he have been so stupid? He should've told Steven the truth. This was not going to go well at all.

"Would you… like to come in…?" Serenity tried to say in a calm manner, but failed. She opened the door further so that there was room for all three to enter. Seto was the last to walk in, and was pulled to the side by Serenity. "What IS this??" She asked, in a desperate whisper.

"Hey Serenity… long time no see, huh?"

"Why did you bring him here??"

"Look, I know you said our paths would never cross again, but Steven wanted to see you… he needed to meet you." Serenity stared at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with complete embarrassment and shame. It appeared as though Seto wasn't the only one whom had dug his past into himself, never to be revealed again.

Steven stood in the middle of the room, looking around. Mokuba was standing off to the side, afraid of what was going to happen next. Serenity passed Seto and sat down across from Steven, while Seto stood frozen in the spot where he stood. His eyes looked up to Mokuba, Mokuba's looked down away from his. Steven could feel that everyone knew what was going to happen, and that he was the only one who wasn't sure what was going on.

"Steven… I think you deserve to hear the real story…" Seto winced at Serenity's statement; he couldn't hide it any longer; Steven needed to know the truth. Steven and Serenity's eyes were locked onto one another. It was a strange feeling, staring into one another eyes as if staring into their souls. They both felt, as though they knew the person standing in front of them, but at the same time, they didn't. It was an odd yet chilling feeling to endure.

"I want to hear the real story."

"Well, the truth is… I never left you because I was lost. I left you because… I didn't want you." It was as if you could hear a thousand of broken hearts being silenced in that moment. "You see… your father and I had relations at a young age, and you came as much of a surprise… and a mistake…"

"You're father…" Serenity looked over at Seto, even though his face was completely taken back by how she was telling the whole story and what words she was using to tell it, "You're father has always loved you since the very moment I found out I was pregnant with you. There's no doubt about that. But as for me… I had other plans. I simply wasn't ready to be a mother. I wanted to be an actress."

"B-But…" Steven took a step back, his legs were shaking from beneath him, "Y-You're my mother…"

"By birth, yes… but… not much else." Serenity looked away from Steven's eyes. She couldn't believe how much pain she could cause one child, she didn't want to believe she was doing it to him. Serenity wanted to blame every other person in the room, but knew that in a way, it would still be her fault.

"…No…" Steven whisper, bringing his hands to his head, "No!" Seto closed his eyes and turned his head. It was so painful, too painful. Steven shook his head continuously, pulling at his hair and taking a couple more steps back. "This… can't… be…" Steven wasn't sure how to even put his emotions into words.

The door opened and a man stepped in, a bag of groceries in his hands. The whole room's attention fell on him. "Hey honey, I'm home." He stopped when he noticed Seto, Mokuba, and Steven standing in the room. "Honey…?" Serenity stood up.

"Everyone… this is Iniro Asaki… my husband." Seto's attention fell back on Serenity.

"Husband?"

"Hey Daddy! Daddy! Did you tell Mom about my math grade yet?" a small voice called from behind him. A young boy squeezed through the doorway, past his father and into the living room. Now the attention fell on him. The boy looked around in an awkward manner. "Mom? Do you have friends over?"

"Oh, hey Shiro, why don't you go to your room for a moment? It's grown up time right now." Shiro walked over to Steven and stared at him. They stood apart from one another, just observing the other. They couldn't have been only about two to three years apart from one another.

"If it's grown-up time, why is he here?" Shiro asked, pointing at Steven. Iniro walked over to where Serenity stood and bent forward towards her.

"Honey…? What's going on?"

"Iniro… this is Seto Kaiba." Iniro and Seto eyed one another.

"Is this the guy you used to…?"

"Yeah… that's him." Steven looked from Shiro to his mother.

"Who is this?"

"Shiro is my son… my real son…" Steven shook his head repeatedly. This couldn't be possible. Why would she do this? How could this happen? Why did Shiro get a mother? How did Shiro always have what Steven never got? It didn't make sense, nothing made sense anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes and slowly dripped down his face. And for the very first time in his life, he cried. That was the only thing he could do, the only thing he felt he could do. That, and run.

Steven turned away as quickly as he could and ran out the door. He ran as fast as he could down the steps and onto the sidewalk. All he wanted to do was run, to get away from everything and anything. Steven hadn't a clue where he was going, but he didn't care. As long as he was away, as long as he could get out. He wanted to outrun the pain, the regret, and the truth. But the truth is the last thing you can outrun.

* * *

**A/N:** _Talk about an emotional roller coaster! Well, there you have it folks, the moment we've all been waiting for. Now the question is, was it worth the wait? Only more tragedy and more discoveries to come in chapter 16! Do enjoy the rest of the day, and I hope to hear from you soon!_


	16. Chapter 16

Ladyguadalupe: I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! But hopefully this very exciting chapter will make up for that fact! Thanks for the review!

Journey Maker: You're a mother? That's so cool! I hope you approve of this story!(I mean, it being accurate and all… although from your reactions if doesn't sound as though you really approve of Serenity's behavior… but still!) Thanks for the review!

Xblackrosefirex: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Coldhearted: I know it's pretty sad, but it does have it's funny moments. It's half and half, really. Thanks so much for you're compliment! It really means a lot Thanks for the review!

AlienDemon: I'm glad you finally had the time! I'm sorry for bugging you so much about it. I was just so excited for you reading the story! And I think you enjoyed it either way… I hope. Thanks again for everything, enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 16

"_Mother always said that honesty was the best policy, and money isn't everything. She was wrong about other things too."_-Gerald Barzan

The room was filled with all kinds of emotions and no one spoke for fear of facing them. Now only five people remained in the room, all were looking at one another suspiciously. After only a few moments of utter silence, Mokuba could no longer take it anymore.

"That's it! I have to find him!" Mokuba yelled out, unable to hold back the guilt and his desire to protect Steven. Mokuba hurried across the room and towards the door. Seto wanted to call him back, he felt as though he needed someone to watch his back in this battlefield. But Steven's safety was a concern, so he said nothing and watched his brother run out of the house after Steven.

Now Serenity turned to face Seto, her face was filled with fury. "How could you do this to me?"

"And what exactly might you be talking about?"

"What were you thinking bringing Steven here?? How did you even find me?"

"Well, your brother gave us a the hunch that you were in Tokyo, and then Tea helped us find your exact location within Tokyo." Serenity signaled Shiro to leave the room. Shiro obeyed and left the room in a hurry. The room was about to get heated.

"You of all people knew that Steven couldn't come here! You knew what would've happen! Not only that, but you lied to him too?"

"What did you expect me to do? Tell him how he was a mistake from the start?"

"Well, that would've been the truth!"

"By the way, you could've said it in a nicer way."

"The truth can't always be said in the nicest way."

"How could you possibly do this to him? He's never done anything to you!"

"And I've never done anything to him!"

"You abandoned your own child!"

"Get out of my house, NOW! I don't need to take this!" Serenity yelled into Seto's face. Seto took a step forward.

"No! The least you could've done is said it differently… you didn't have to torture him!"

"I told you to GET OUT!" Serenity commanded, her voice more vicious and fierce than the first time she yelled. Seto was unmoving though; Serenity had hurt his child and he was going to make sure she would pay. Logic and common sense escaped him and anger filled his mind. Iniro stepped in at this point, standing between Serenity and Seto.

"Look buddy, Serenity said to leave." Seto looked up at Iniro, whom was a couple feet taller than him and looked a lot better built. But because common sense was clearly absent, Seto didn't care. He shoved Iniro to the side.

"Stay out of this newly wed, this doesn't involve you." Iniro took up his arms, which contained massive muscles and walked back over to Seto.

"Are you trying to start something, kid?" Iniro shoved Seto back, but his shove had a lot more force. Seto didn't think for much longer before he leaped forward and threw his body at Iniro. Serenity screamed with fright and moved away as Iniro and Seto began to intensify their heated battle against one another.

"Who're you calling a kid?" Seto threw his fist at Iniro, but Iniro skillfully dodged it. Seto was having a lot of trouble landing hits on the man.

"Stop it! STOP!" Serenity yelled, but with no response. Seto and Iniro continued their fight. Punches and kicks were flying everywhere and in every direction, but it was easy to see who was winning. Seto was fighting out of anger, while it became apparent that Iniro knew a thing or two about martial arts. Seto was getting creamed; there was no doubt about that.

At one point Seto had thrown himself, once again, at Iniro, only to be thrown against the wall. Serenity was still standing in the corner, horrified, watching Seto lay limp against the wall. "Serenity…" Seto said in between pants, trying to regain his strength, "How could you do this to our child?"

"Stop blaming me for the lies you told him! I should be the one accusing YOU of all the crimes! I tried to forget about you… about what you did to me! I tried to forget…" Serenity gulped as tears began streaming down her face, "I tried to forget Steven! When I moved here, when I married Iniro, I wanted to forget everything! I wanted a clean slate… a new life, I wanted to start over!"

Seto slowly started to push himself onto his fit and leaned against the wall for support. His body was weak and his limbs were sore. Seto was in pretty bad shape. Iniro stared at him, standing in a protective stance near Serenity, ready to attack him once more if need be. "Serenity… my son…" Seto coughed, blood streaming down the side of his face, "Our CHILD… is NOT something you can turn your back on and forget… You gave BIRTH to Steven! You are his MOTHER! You can't just turn your back and pretend like that isn't true!"

"Oh really? What about you? Your past and your parents? What about Gozaburo?" Seto pushed himself off the wall and towards Serenity. Iniro threw himself back into action and grabbed Seto by the shirt, but Seto was still able to grab Serenity b the collar. Bringing her face close to his, their stared into each other's eye.

"I NEVER turned my back on my past. I could NEVER turn my back on my past!" Iniro tried to pry Seto away from Serenity, but his grip was hard and firm and pulled her even closer. "My mother DIED giving birth to Mokuba! Every time I look at Mokuba… every time I see his face, I see my mother, and I see her dying! He is a living reminder of my past…"

Seto's body was shaking now, his eyes becoming slightly watery and his hand falling limp. Seto let his hand droop down and let Serenity go. His gazed was still focused on Serenity. Seto took a couple deep breaths before finally being able to speak again. "And every time I look at Steven… I see you."

* * *

Rain poured and slammed on top of Mokuba's head as he sprinted down the sidewalk. He hadn't noticed it had been raining until, of course, he had run out onto the sidewalk in search of Steven. His wet clothes clung to his body; his hair was sticking to the sides of his face and neck. Mokuba was tired, wet, and cold. But even in this state, he only had one thing on his mind. Steven; he had to find Steven. Mokuba had always known this would happen, that keeping his mother a secret would ultimately lead to this. Mokuba felt this was his fault for letting it go this far.

After running for about a half hour or so, Mokuba noticed that he had no idea where he was. Mokuba stopped and let his body rest for a moment as he tried to remember the way he came. He had never been to Tokyo before, how could he possibly find Steven in the capital of Japan all by himself? Mokuba frantically scanned the area around him, looking at every person that passed. To his surprised and good luck, he spotted Steven sprinting along the sidewalk across the street.

"Steven!" Mokuba called out, not letting another second go by as he darted into the street. Steven stopped and turned his head, watching as Mokuba quickly dodged almost three cars that could have hit him. "Wait!" Steven wouldn't wait; he started running again and turned a sharp corner. Mokuba wouldn't let him out of his site as the race began.

Steven squeezed through multiple civilians on the road in an effort to slow Mokuba down, but Mokuba did just the same. He dodged people and workers just as quickly as Steven had. They were coming up to a busy street and it was now go for the opposing traffic. Steven stopped and turned back around.

"STOP!" Steven yelled, holding out his hand. Mokuba approached him and held out his arms as if to hug him.

"Steven… I…" Steven tried to throw an angry punch at Mokuba, but Mokuba swiftly jumped back and dodged it.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Mokuba moved in closer once more and was greeted with a kick. Mokuba shifted his head and dodged another attack. "I said GO AWAY!"

"Steven! I just want to talk to you!"

"NO!" Steven charged at Mokuba, his head forward and head butted him onto the wet pavement. Mokuba sat, somewhat shocked by Steven's actions, and looked back up. Steven stood over him, hot tears running down his angry face. Mokuba had never seen him so emotionally hurt. Steven was always happy, there was always a smile on his face. Not now, his heart had been ripped apart and everyone could see it in his eyes. "Just go away… okay?"

"Steven, you have to understand…"

"Understand what? What more is there to understand? My mother never wanted me! I'm a MISTAKE!" Steven turned his head away, as if to try and hide the tears that continued to fall down his face. "All my life I knew that there was something wrong. I knew I wasn't meant to be on this earth!" Mokuba pushed himself off the ground and towards Steven. Steven moved slowly away.

"Steven, that's not true!"

"Yes it is! You and Otousan… you guys lied to me. When the evidence is right there. I don't belong there, and I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere. I mean, come on, Steven? What kind of name is that? It's not even Japanese!" Mokuba tried to make another attempt to hug Steven, but Steven, this time more calmly, refused. Mokuba looked down in defeat.

"Look Steven… I know it's hard, and I understand where you're coming from…"

"You have no idea what I'm going through! Don't even talk like that! I bet your parents never lied to you! I bet your parents always told you how much they loved you!" Mokuba looked away for a moment.

"Well… actually… our parents are dead." Steven's face fell completely blank at that moment.

"What…? When??"

"When Seto and I were kids. We were put in an orphanage for many years… before we were adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba… our step father, and the original owner of Kaiba Corp." The last bit of trust Steven had for Seto and Mokuba had disappeared in that moment. They hadn't told him anything about their past, and they hadn't told him about his own past. Everything had been kept a secret and he was simply supposed to go along with it. It was as though everything Steven ever knew about his past, present, and future had shattered.

Steven stood there, completely still, letting the rain pound on top of his head. His heart slowed and his eyes shaded from a clear gray-blue, to a dark black. "I hate you…" he whispered. Mokuba's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something, but Steven wouldn't give him the chance. Steven didn't want any more lies, and he didn't want anything more to do with him and Seto. "I HATE YOU ALL!"

Steven took off once again down the sidewalk and disappeared in the distance. This time Mokuba wouldn't run after him. He wanted to, but he knew he couldn't. Steven would need some time alone, and some time to think things over. Now Mokuba understood the pain his brother would feel when, in a moment of weakness and anger, Mokuba would tell Seto he hated him. He now knew how much those three words stung, and how long they would continue to sting.

After hours of endless walking and obsessive thinking, Mokuba finally found his way back to Serenity's house. The rain had started to clear up, now instead of hard droplets, it was only a light drizzle as the day was shifting into late afternoon. Mokuba found Seto sitting on the steps that lead up to Serenity's house, bruises in plain view along with blood dripping from his various cuts on his body. Mokuba had to admit that Seto looked like a mess.

"Hey Nii-sama…" Mokuba said in a very quiet voice. Seto moved his head slightly, looked at him for about a second, and then returned to staring at the ground. Mokuba made his way and sat next to Seto, staring at the same ground.

"Where's Steven?" Seto mumbled.

"I don't know… I found him and told him about our parents, and some of our past." Before today, Seto would have been angered by this action, but even Seto knew that it was time to come clean. "After that he ran off and I didn't go after him… he told me he… hated us. I felt like he needed to be alone." Seto winced at the word hate. It was so powerful; a word Steven had never used his whole life, until now. Seto sighed.

"I suppose it's reasonable…" Seto looked at Mokuba's drenched body, "You're all wet." Mokuba raised one eyebrow.

"And you're all bloody." Seto shrugged.

"I guess we both look like a couple of losers that couldn't keep a child happy."

"What happened to you, by the way?" Seto sighed once more.

"Serenity never told me her husband was a black belt." Mokuba would've chuckled, but his mind was far off with Steven's pure and happy face imprinted in his head. This was no time to laugh, if anything it was time to repent. They had done a terrible thing and now they had lost the one thing that completed their family. "I lost my own son…" Mokuba placed his hand on Seto's back.

"Don't worry Nii-sama, I'm sure we'll get him back."

"I wish you were right, Mokuba…"

"I wish I was right too." The brother sat in silence until finally gathering the strength to pick themselves up and move forward. Although beaten and battered, they knew what they would have to do. They had to make things right again; they had to find Steven and bring him back. Seto had to fix this mess and regain his son; his one and only child.

* * *

**A/N:** _I think this is where I shall end this chapter for now. I wanted to put a limit on my writing, I tried to put a limit on my writing, and I miserably failed. I know most writers say that their reason for updating is because of school, life, or love issues. For me, it seems, the complete opposite. Although so much is going on and there are tons of other things that should be taking up my time and there is so much to do between now and then, I found myself always coming back to what I love most. Because I find that even when it felt like I was in a position where I couldn't escape, writing was my escape and always has been. That's why I have to keep updating and I have to keep writing, there's no other way I could possibly survive life without it. So I hoped you've enjoyed this chapter because I did. And I always will._


	17. Chapter 17

Xblackrosefirex: Yeah, denial can be a pretty terrible thing, especially in broken families such as this. I think almost everyone reading this fic hates Serenity by now, except for maybe the few that see the logic in her thoughts and feelings. But anyhow, onward to the next chapter! Thanks for the review!

Journey maker: I don't believe any child is mistake either. I feel as thought we were all put on this earth for a reason, ya know? But anyhow, yes, both Seto and Serenity have made major big mistakes on the parental front, but hopefully they can save that… maybe? Oh well, you'll have to see. Thanks for the review!

Ladyguadalupe: Thanks so much! I'm so sorry for such a very late update! I'm hoping that I'll be back on track and up with the next chapter very soon. It's hard to hate either of them, but at the same time, it isn't. Anyways, thanks for the review!

AlienDemon: Thanks for the fantastic review darling! You saved me from a very dark place today in Art. Thanks a lot, sometimes it feels like you're the only person that really sees me, ya know, the me behind the smile. Thanks for being such an awesome friend, and reviewer too! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 17

"_A mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent."_-Erich Fromm

Shiro lay in his bed, his big brown eyes staring at his mother. Serenity stood still in her son's room, a picture frame in her hand. She stared at it with such deep emotion; it was as if she had lost herself in the very picture before her. Shiro was confused by this behavior; his mother had been acting rather weird ever since the arrival of Mr. Kaiba and his company. Not to mention the small child that had been tagging along side him.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" Shiro asked, no longer able to simply wait in bed for his mother to awaken from her daydreams. She looked up from the picture and over at him, trying her best to put on a smile.

"Yes… I'm fine," she said in a soft voice, walking over to his bedside and bringing the covers up to his chin. She bent down and kissed him on the head. "I hope you have a nice sleep, Shiro. I'll see you in the morning." She flicked off the lamp beside his bed and headed towards the door.

"Wait… Mommy." Serenity stopped and turned around.

"Yes Shiro? What is it?" Shiro looked down for a moment, feeling somewhat awkward.

"That boy… that came to our house today… is he my brother?" Serenity's eyes widened. Her hands shook with nervousness, her body shivering with the remembrance of her first son.

"In a way… yes… he's your half brother."

"Oh…" There was more silence until Shiro spoke again. "Do you love him?"

"What?"

"Do you love him? He's your son… but I didn't even know he even existed until today."

"Go to bed Shiro." Iniro was heard walking through the hallway. Serenity stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her, running past Iniro before he could hear the conversation. Serenity didn't feel comfortable talking about the subject, especially not with her husband. She felt as though he would never truly understand the hardship she had gone through.

Serenity ran into her room and sat down. She thought back to earlier that day, what Steven had looked like. She remembered the day he was born, and him just being a small baby. How he had grown in only 7 years… it was scary to see how much he resembled his father… and his mother. Serenity winced at the thought.

The door creaked open, but Serenity did nothing. She sensed that it was Iniro who had entered the room. "Honey? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Inrio walked over to her side and sat down. He placed his arm around her shoulders and brought her close. Serenity did nothing in response except stare as if there were a vast distance to look into.

"You still a little messed up from earlier today?"

"I suppose you could say that…" Serenity sighed, "I can't believe I actually thought I could run away… that I could have a child and then never have to see him again…" Iniro tightened his grip around Serenity.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes sometimes." Serenity shook her head.

"But this wasn't just any mistake, it was a human life, it was a baby boy, it was my son. I brought that child into this world, even though I didn't want anything to do with it." Serenity brought her hands up to her face as she began to cry. Inrio's heart cried out for Serenity as well, he hated to see her suffering like this. He rubbed his hand along her back and spine in an effort to calm her down.

"Shhh… it's okay Serenity… everything's going to be okay…" Serenity shook her head.

"Nothing is ever going to be okay. I broke that poor boy's heart…" Serenity got up and opened the shades in front of her window. She looked out into the dark streets that were near her house, scanning the area as if to see if Steven was wandering near her house. "How could I ever be forgiven for what I've done?"

Iniro was silent. He didn't know what to say, nor did he know what to do to make her feel better. In a way, he knew that it was true. She had made Steven suffer as a result of her actions, but Inrio also felt that Serenity never meant for it to end up this way. At least she never meant it to be this painful.

Iniro left the room, and left Serenity to her thoughts. Her mind kept going back to the argument she and Seto had. About her decisions, and the path she had chosen. The small, and fragile heart Serenity had broken. She also thought about what Shiro had suggested, and remembered how him and Steven were half brothers.

Brothers… the title of brother had many different meanings behind it. Serenity's thoughts always thought of her brother, and the role he played in her life. But after thinking of Joey, her thoughts would always fall back to Seto and Mokuba. The bond they had always had since the beginning of time. Something that seemed everlasting.

For a moment, Serenity was jealous of the two. As the years went on and her career shot off, she had fallen out of contact with a lot of friends and family. She didn't even talk to Joey anymore, her only brother. Seto and Mokuba would never go through that, they have already been through so much. What could possibly tear those two apart?

* * *

Seto lay in the hotel room bed wide-awake. His thoughts were analyzing the day they had just had, the people they had encountered. It amazed Seto how much had happened in only a couple hours. Seto turned his head, looking around the room as if he expected to see someone. Sadly, he knew that the only people in the room were himself and Mokuba. Steven was still somewhere out in Tokyo. Seto squeezed his eyes shut; he didn't want to think of what could be happening to him at this hour on his own.

Mokuba yawned in his sleep and rolled over, his head lying on Seto's arm. Mokuba had been asleep for a while now, although Seto couldn't blame him. It was probably very late at night by this time. Seto couldn't tell though. He sighed, Seto wondered where Steven would sleep, or if he was sleeping in some gutter on the side of he road. Seto hated knowing Steven wasn't sound asleep in a nice warm bed under his watchful eye.

Seto was thankful though, for Yugi's help that is. Even though coming to see Serenity was probably a huge mistake in the long run, after the brothers had left the house, Yugi picked them up and even gave them money for a stay at a hotel. Seto hated to admit it, but Yugi had been helping him out a lot. Although it did sadden him knowing he would have to pay him back someday, that was simply a rule Seto had always lived by. He could never let anyone do him a favor without his promise of something in return.

There was a mumble heard from Mokuba, his body twisted and turned, and then rolled back onto his other side. Seto never knew Mokuba to be such a restless sleeper. Seto pulled up his hand and began stroking Mokuba's hair lightly in an effort to not wake him up. How peaceful he looked in his sleep, how child-like. It was hard to believe his little brother was actually eighteen. Sometimes Seto didn't want to believe it, his little brother was supposed to be, well, little. Now he was all grown up, which meant he wouldn't need Seto anymore. Mokuba didn't tag along on this trip to be protected; he came along to help Seto. Because he, of all people, knew Seto was going to need all the help he could get. Maybe Seto should have been happier about that fact.

Ever since they were little, in some ways, Mokuba had always looked out for Seto. Maybe he was so busy trying to look out for Mokuba, he never noticed how grown up and mature his brother actually was. Mokuba was very bright as a child, and never truly needed. Except possibly after Dad died, but that was reasonable. Ever kid would've needed extra attention after something as traumatizing as that.

Mokuba suddenly jerked, scaring Seto a bit. His body flinched and shifted quickly and started shaking. His eyes no longer shut in a peaceful manner, but were now shut and squeezed together as if to hold something back. Tears were formed at the edges of his eyes and his body curled up into a fetal position. He let out a loud scream.

"Mokuba?" Mokuba continued to yell and cry for help of some sort, shaking violently in his sleep. Seto sat up and shook Mokuba hard. "Mokuba! Wake up! You're okay!" After about a minute of shaking him, Mokuba's eyes sprung open and his body jumped off the side of the bed. He fell head first, his legs still hanging off the side of the bed. Seto looked down. "Are you okay?"

"He's dead!" Mokuba pulled down his feet and got up, running to the window.

"Who's dead?" Mokuba was looking through the window and scanning the sidewalks.

"Steven…" Mokuba choked, as his cries turned into sobs. "He's dead… I watched him… die…" Seto got up and walked over to Mokuba, whom was leaning against the window now, letting his tears drip down the glass. He reached out his hand and touched Mokuba's shoulder.

"Don't worry Mokuba… I'm sure he's alright…" Seto was surprised he was saying this when even he had been worried about Steven's safety. Mokuba shook his head.

"We have to find him… we have to find him…" Seto tried to bring Mokuba into a comforting hug.

"We will Mokuba, we will…" Mokuba spun around.

"I won't have him die like Mom and Dad!" Mokuba yelled, as if Seto were to blame for such things, "He can't die… not him… he's just a kid… and he's the greatest joy that ever came to this family." Seto looked down.

"I know Mokuba… I know. We'll search for him at the crack of dawn tomorrow, I promise you." Mokuba nodded, turning his head back towards the window one last time, hoping to catch site of Steven walking or running along the sidewalk outside of the hotel.

"Do you really think he's going to be okay, Nii-sama?" Seto gulped hard.

"I hope so, Mokuba."

* * *

Steven had been running for hours now, and his legs were finally about to give out him. He was panting hard; Steven had never been so tired in his life. But it was worth it, he thought, it was completely worth it to get away from it all. Steven didn't know where he would go or where he would stay, but as long as it was away from his family, he didn't care. Steven would rather live out the rest of his life on the streets if it had to come down to that.

Steven looked around; the streets and sidewalks were deserted by this time of night. Steven didn't even know what time it was, but it must've been late. He kept walking for some time until he decided to walk down an alleyway to find somewhere to sleep for the night. He didn't want to sleep on a bench and risk being seen and brought back to his father. If he knew Seto, he'd have the police start a countrywide search for him.

Steven walked slowly through the alleyway, looking for something to sleep on for the night, when he heard a sound from up ahead. Steven stopped, his senses becoming alert and strong since it was already dark enough. Steven waited; the only sound being heard then was his breathing. But the sound didn't return.

Steven relaxed a bit and started back down the alleyway again when another sound was heard and he froze. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark now, little boy…" a dark and creepy voice said from within the shadows. Steven's head twisted all around, trying to catch sight of the person speaking to him. Up ahead a man stepped out into a better light. Steven's eyes widened.

The man that stood before him was wearing a practically all white outfit and had long neon green hair that was tied into a small ponytail at the end. His bangs stuck out like Yugi's, but his body was better built and just as tall as his father's. But the one thing that probably stood out the most, and scared Steven the most, were his eyes. One was a teal color, and the other was yellow.

"Well, well, well… look whom I've finally had the pleasure to stumble upon, the infamous Steven Kaiba." Steven's body tensed slowly taking a step back.

"How… do you know my name?" The man chuckled and smirked before speaking once again in a dark, low-pitched voice.

"I know everything about you, young Steven. You're seven years old, your middle name is Zoutou, your father's been questioned and mocked time and time again because of your mother's absence, you just recently decided to go and find your mother, and now the only reason you're wandering the streets of a city you don't belong is because you found out that your family never once told you the truth…"

Steven looked away, trying to hide his face. He could feel the tears welling up again, trying to escape. He wouldn't cry, he couldn't cry. Why was he so weak? Steven shook his head in an effort to keep himself from falling apart emotionally. The site made him smirk, but on in the darkest of shadows.

Steven took in a deep breath and finally looked back up at the man. "Who are you?" The man took another step forward.

"My name is Dartz."

* * *

**A/N:** _Hey guys! Kari here with a rather late update. I'm so very sorry for that! I don't know what happened, I was on such a good streak and then suddenly it all died(possibly along with my motivation to do homework) But now I'm back and I'm hoping to get a new chapter up really soon! I hope you guys don't hate me too much, look forward to the next chapter!_


	18. Chapter 18

Xblackrosefirex: Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Journey maker: Aw, don't be mad at Seto! You should hate Serenity for being a bad mother! I mean… choose who you want to hate… of course… thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!

AlienDemon: Happy birthday you wonderful person, I have an uber long happy birthday note for you at the end. Just as I promised, this chapter is totally dedicated to you. I'm sorry I couldn't get it up on your birthday! I hope this update makes up for it though… I love you!

AmePiper: There you are! I was wondering where you went… yeah, I definitely didn't get a review for chapter 16, but I guess is to blame for that one. I believe that you did write it though. I'm also happy Seto and Mokuba are back to normal again, it was too depressing to write them otherwise. Although I do love conflict, hahaha. Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!

Ladyguadalupe: Yeah, Dartz is the bad guy that pops up the second before last season, so he isn't all that known. They get the police though, don't worry. Thanks for the review! Enjoy the chapter!

Rena Redhead: Oh my gosh, all my review replies and my long author's note has made this chapter super long, but OH WELL! So yes, I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS. And I thoroughly enjoyed the last one you gave me. Thanks for reviewing my sweet redheaded child, I do hope you like the chapter!(and that you help me out with the sequel possibly.) I'm so proud of you too! You've read all 3 of my biggest stories, and I know they were super long too, so definitely give yourself a pat on the back!(you're too nice dude, seriously.) Thanks for the review! And finally… here comes the chapter.

Chapter 18

"_Before you were conceived I wanted you,_

_Before you were born I loved you,_

_Before you were here an hour I would die for you,_

_This is the miracle of life."_-Maureen Hawkins

Seto stood in the lobby of the hotel, a look on determination across his face and a single suitcase in his hand. "Mokuba, take this out to the motorcycle. I'm just going to check out real quick." Mokuba nodded and took the suitcase from his brother's hand and disappeared out of the automatic door. Seto looked up at the man at the front desk. "Now what do I need to sign?"

"Just sign this right here and you'll be free to go." Seto took up the clerk's pen and signed off with his signature.

"That's all, right?"

"Yep, I believe so. You're free to go Mr. Kaiba." Seto didn't give him any sort of sign of gratitude before turning away. His mind was in another place, planning out how he would search the country's capital in hopes of finding his son. Seto had to find Steven at all costs, he had to make things right again. Just as he walked through the automatic doors he spotted Serenity standing on the sidewalk near the entrance.

"Serenity?" She was smiling, but it was obviously that she was also very nervous.

"I was coming here to offer you my help… why are you leaving so early?" Seto didn't exactly know what Serenity was trying to pull, but he didn't care otherwise.

"Because my son is wandering the streets of Tokyo and I'm going to find him before he gets into any trouble," Seto said sternly. He hated stupid questions, especially ones where the answers were very obvious.

"I see…" Serenity walked over to Seto, the smile was practically gone by now. Seto could see the pain in her eyes, and turned his head away slightly.

"Look, this is all very… sudden. But I really should be getting on my way." Seto tried to move past her but Serenity quickly blocked his way.

"So you're just going to leave?"

"What did you think I was going to do? Let you come along with me?" Seto was becoming frustrated with Serenity's behavior. Did she really believe that she could just show up one day and decide to reunite with her son again?

"I don't know… I just thought maybe…" Serenity looked down at the ground in shame, "Maybe you would take me up on that offer." There was silence between him, Seto sighed.

"Look Serenity, it's good to hear that after completely thrashing Steven's feelings and causing him to run off and hate me you actually care about our son's safety, but I would just feel much better if you stayed out of this." Serenity brought her hand up to her chest, feeling utterly insulted.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry Serenity, but I can't accept your help. Your seven years too late." Seto, once again, tried to move by her, but, once again, Serenity wouldn't budge. Now she was angry.

"What?" Serenity said in an accusing voice; "Isn't this what you wanted? From the very beginning?"

"Yes, I would've liked a completed family in my life. Yes, I would've wanted you to be involved in Steven's life. Yes, I wanted my son's childhood to be happy and healthy," Seto paused and swallowed hard, "But now there's nothing you can do, but stay away from him. Don't you see that you've caused him enough pain already?"

Serenity stood across from him, motionless. Her heart ripped in two; all Seto was basically telling her at this point was that there was nothing more that could be done. She did nothing but hurt Steven, and after seven years, she had truly missed her opportunity to be apart of Steven's life. That it was simply best to keep away and turn her back from now on.

"Why?" It was the only question that could find it's way out of Serenity's mouth. She felt like all the evidence as to why this was happening was right in front of her, and yet, she still couldn't quite understand it fully. Seto shrugged.

"For a while now, I believed that everything happens for a reason, that events occur the way do because we each have a set path to follow as we go through life. I've discovered these past seven years that it is obvious that you were never meant to be apart of Steven's life." Serenity didn't know what to say. She began to panic, feeling as though an important thing in her life was now an unreachable goal, an impossible cause. Was this for real?

"How are you so sure?"

"Sometimes there aren't reasons behind why things happen the way they do." There was more silence. Mokuba re-appeared running across the parking lot over to Seto.

"But-" Serenity said, suddenly being cut off from a yell in the distance.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba called from behind her. Seto's eyes averted up and looked on towards the running figure that grew larger as it came closer. He went back to look at Serenity, just as he slowly started to move away.

"Seto…" Serenity said one last time, in a soft and gentle voice.

"Serenity, we're done, through, finished. There's nothing more you can do. It's good to know that you still care about Steven, but you're simply too late. I appreciate your wanting to help, but it's just something Mokuba and I have to do." Seto started walking towards Mokuba as he was crossing the street. Serenity twisted back around.

"Seto, hold on!"

"Go home Serenity. You have a son to take care of and a husband waiting for you at home. Not to mention a strong career and good money to fall back on," Seto turned his head back to look at her one last time, "And isn't that everything you ever wanted?" Seto then continued his way to Mokuba.

Tears were streaming down Serenity's face. She was locked in a world of denial, but at this point, there was no use in denying it any longer. Seto had called her out on everything and made her realize that Steven wasn't the mistake or any kind of mistake for that matter, but that abandoning him when he was just a baby was the biggest mistake of them all. Serenity was only realizing this now.

"Wait!" She called back, in hopes of somehow being able to convince Seto from thinking otherwise. Seto didn't turn back though, and he would never turn back. This was his mission, and his alone.

"Let's hope our paths never cross again," Seto stated before disappearing into the parking lot with Mokuba by his side and a shine in his eye.

Serenity stood lonely and in defeat, walking as they walked away. Seto had left Serenity confused and hurt. She wasn't sure whether Seto was angry with her or not, all she knew was that she could tell that he never wanted to see her again. Although it was harsh, Serenity could understand why Seto would be doing this. Seto loved Steven more than anything in the world, and he didn't want anything to hurt him. Now Serenity had not only lost Seto, but also her first-born child, Steven.

* * *

Mokuba walked beside his brother, but couldn't help himself from looking back at Serenity, whom now stood by herself, staring at the ground with a look of terrible realization. "Nii-sama, what happened between you and Serenity?" Mokuba asked, looking back up at his brother.

"Nothing." Mokuba twisted around to take another look at Serenity before turning back.

"Um… are you sure? She doesn't look so great."

"Mokuba, please." There was a hint of anger in his voice, but Mokuba could feel it wasn't because of him. Something bad must've happened between Serenity and Seto, but he knew his brother couldn't talk about it.

Just as they had reached the motorcycle, a police car rode up next to it. The windows rolled down, and to their surprise, it was Yugi behind the wheel. "Hey guys, I just came by to let you know I've got the whole force searching Tokyo for Steven."

"What? I never asked you to do that," Seto stated plainly, that hint of anger still in his voice.

"I know that, but I wanted to do everything in my power to help you find him." Seto rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Dammit Yugi, now this means I owe you for helping me find Steven."

"Oh Kaiba, you don't have to pay me-"

"Okay good." Seto took up his helmet and placed it on his head. Mokuba quickly did the same as he hopped into the side seat of the motorcycle. Seto seated himself and turned back to Yugi. "What places do you not have the police searching?"

"Downtown Tokyo is the only place. But now that I think of it, I should probably send an officer down there rather than you. Downtown has a tendency to-"

"Oh please Yugi, you talk as if I can't handle finding my own son." Seto flipped down his helmet, "Let me know if you find anything." And without another word he sped off onto the road, most likely not driving the speed limit. But nothing was going to get into the way of Seto finding Steven, he knew that much.

It wasn't hard to tell if they were driving through Downtown Tokyo. The houses began to shrink, the signs and bus stops had graffiti on them, and it gave any person this eerie feeling of danger. As strange as it was, it seemed as though Downtown Tokyo was slightly darker than the rest of Tokyo, as if the sun never really touched this part of the city. Of course, this was something Seto never noticed nor felt. He had other things on his mind.

Seto started to slow the motorcycle at a more normal speed, "Look around and tell me if you see something," Seto said. Mokuba nodded and looked all around. The sidewalks seemed empty. Downtown Tokyo seemed absolutely deserted. This only worried Mokuba more; this was definitely not a normal. But Mokuba kept his head up high, and his eyes alert for anything that could relate to Steven. Suddenly Mokuba saw a flash of green.

"STOP!" Seto skidded to a stop.

"What is it?" Mokuba threw off his helmet and got off the motorcycle. He pointed into the direction of a large alleyway.

"I saw something over there." Seto got off as well, his senses becoming more alert of his surroundings. He found that his senses would always come through for him in his time of need. His eyes narrowed toward the alleyway. Just as he was about to cross the street over to it, a man stepped out, with a small boy walking beside him.

"Good to see you again, I hope you've been doing well." Seto gritted his teeth.

"Dartz?! I thought you were dead!"

"Oh, everyone always thinks that," Dartz said with a laugh, cueing Steven to walk forward and reveal himself, "And look whose with me? Just another source of happiness, you could say." Seto's eyes widened. He took a step forward.

"Steven! Get away from him!" Steven did not look happy to see either of Seto or Mokuba. His body was unmoving.

"No." Now Seto was confused. Why would Steven…?

"What have you told him?!" Seto yelled, raising a finger at Dartz. This only made Dartz laugh again.

"I haven't told him a thing Kaiba. I think I should be the one accusing you, really. What have you done to hurt this child so?" Mokuba looked from Seto to Steven. This was not good; it was obvious Steven had made some sort of decision to stay with Dartz. He had to convince him that Seto loved him.

"Steven! You shouldn't do this; Dartz is a bad guy. He tried to take over the world! Look, I know you're mad about us lying to you, but that doesn't mean we don't love you and care about you. Serenity may think you're a mistake but Seto thinks-"

"I've heard ENOUGH of your lies!" Steven yelled, "I'm tired of both of you! I don't ever want to be involved with you ever again! I've made my decision; I want to stay with Dartz. He actually wants me to be his child, he doesn't think I'm a mistake!" An evil grin appeared on Dartz face.

"Surprised, Kaiba?"

"How did you find us? What do you want with Steven??" Seto growled, knowing that if Dartz didn't start giving him answers things would get heated soon.

"Let's just say I need Steven for something… it's a sort of ancient prophecy, I'm sure you wouldn't understand," Dartz placed a hand on Steven's shoulder; "I've been following Steven for a long time from a distance, until now for reasons of my own. I know everything that's every happened to him since the day he was born, and I've always known where he was… well, until you three decided to go on a little quest." Seto didn't understand this one bit, what would Dartz need Steven for? What prophecy was he talking about?

"When you left, I had almost lost track of Steven. Then I heard from an unnamed source that you were heading to Tokyo to meet Steven's infamous mother, whom, this is the ironic part, never wanted to see him again!"

"SHUT UP!" Seto yelled. He wanted to smash Dartz's face in right here and right now. Dartz brought his index finger up to his mouth and signaled him to be quiet.

"Hold on now, let me finish," Dartz coughed a bit as if to clear his throat, "When I had found you were heading to Tokyo, well, I couldn't allow that, now could I? So I sent various PEOPLE to try and stop you." Seto looked at him, bewildered. What on earth was he talking about? He sent people to stop him? Nothing came to mind when he thought of… wait.

"You mean… the car crash? In the rain?"

"That was indeed my first attempt."

"Rebecca?"

"Well, she wasn't what I originally planned, but when you were asleep, I did call her and made an offer." Seto's thoughts were all over the place, was he the reason everything had completely gone wrong for him this whole entire trip? How could he have not realized it?

"My bank account? Those three guys who tried to kill Mokuba and Steven? Isono…" Anger took over his face, "You killed Isono and framed me, didn't you?!" Seto yelled.

"It's good to know that I don't have to draw a picture for you." Steven's facial expression changed as he began to realize whom he was standing by against his own father.

"…You killed Isono?" Steven asked, taking a few steps away from him. Dartz's yellow eye fell on Steven.

"It's the truth, Steven."

"B-But… you told me…"

"I know, isn't it fun to fool children?" Steven shook his head and turned to run towards his father, but Dartz hand shot out and grabbed him. As Dartz pulled him into a headlock, Seto couldn't restrain himself any longer. He darted forward to Dartz, but just as he almost reached him, Dartz started to pull something from his pocket. Mokuba's heart stopped in that moment before running to his brother.

"Nii-sama! No!" Seto came to a halt, just a few feet away from Dartz. Steven was squirming in his grip, trying to break free.

"Now, now Kaiba… you wouldn't want to do anything drastic, would you?"

"How is it that every bad guy we run into has guns?" Mokuba asked, but no one paid attention to him. The scene went back to it's original intense –ness.

"Please… just give me back my son…" Seto muttered desperation; he couldn't risk losing Steven, not again.

"I'm sorry Kaiba, but we cannot change what must be done." This was starting to anger Seto. What was he even talking about? This was starting to become unbearable.

"Dartz, what in God's name are you talking about?! What prophecy??" Dartz smirked.

"Let's just say… you should get more in touch with your ancient Egyptian self." Oh no, not this Egyptian crap again. Seto had to put up with Yugi for far too many years to have to deal with this again.

"I don't understand what you're saying!"

"You will soon enough…" Seto couldn't deal with this anymore. Dartz wasn't giving him any kind of clue as to what he was going to do with Steven and Seto was tired of waiting. Anger took over his body.

"That's IT!" Seto heaved forward and made his final jump towards Dartz. Dartz quickly jumped back, held up the gun, and shot it. For a second, everything went silent, and it looked as though everything was in slow motion. Steven watched with horrified eyes as the bullet, in slow motion, made it's way through the air and towards Seto. Steven's heart burst with fear and sorrow, he was going to lose his father.

Or, well, that's what he thought. When time finally went back to normal and eyes were opened, the scene wasn't automatically revealed. As the dust from the jump began to settle, Mokuba stood in front of Seto, his arms stretched out and his body wavering a bit and looking as though at any moment he could collapse. Dartz attack had hit him straight in the chest.

"Mokuba…?" Seto asked in a horrified voice from behind him. Dartz swiftly started to move back into the shadows with Steven in his arms, a hand over the boy's mouth. Seto took one last glance at Steven, as Steven took his last glance at his father. Their eyes had met, just for one moment; their silent apologies were given, before he was gone.

Steven was gone.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**A/N:** _Now I know what you all are thinking…WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?! YOU ENDED IT?! YOU JUST ENDED IT?? I HATE YOU! Well, fear not young readers, for I had this planned all along. Cause, guess what? You get ANOTHER SEQUEL! Now, some of you might be thinking, 'Wow, another sequel? Don't you think you're pushing it? I mean, come on, Steven isn't all that great of an own character…' well, I have come to terms with the fact that, well, a third story might not score me a lot of points, but I have an idea, a great idea, for how this is going to play out. So if you, my beloved readers and reviewers, wish to follow me to this third story, well, I'm guaranteeing you won't be disappointed. I kind of wanted this story to be 20 chapters, but I didn't think I could stretch it out that long. I know this chapter is REALLY long compared to the others, but that's cause I didn't want a chapter 19 either(I have this thing about odd numbers… yeah) So anyways, oh yes! Just a side note, the beginning confrontation between Seto and Serenity, if you didn't notice, played out just like it did in the last chapter of "A Gift From God" except the roles were switched. You can go see for yourself! It's only that one part though. Take a guess as to what it was;)_

_Now, okay, I know this author's note is already INCREDIBLY long, but hey, it's the last chapter, I'm allowed to do what I want, aren't I? Well sweet reviewers, I want to dedicate this wonder chapter to a special person named Becky the Sexy. You see, Captain Becky has to be about the coolest captain I ever did see… and she's even 18! May 9__th__ was her birthday, I had promised to get this up for her then, but I failed. Anyways, Becky the Sexy, I just wanted to say-y, that you are cool-y. I mean, you taught me how to do art… even better then our witch of a teacher! I love being near you and your chest(which sounds creepy, but believe me, Becky gets it. I'm not gay) You have helped me so much with my life and with this story, a lot of the credit should really go to you babe. I mean, DUDE, Becky the Sexy? Yes, I'd like TWO please, and give me some fries with that too! I mean, that's how friggin awesome you are!_

_But anyhow, I just wanted to wish you the most fantastic 18__th__ birthday of all my dearest. I hope this odd Yu-Gi-Oh story helps you to achieve total happiness and love. Like the love I have for you. _

_Happy Birthday, Becky. May all your dreams come true._

_And may all of them involve card games._


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